RWBY: Duel Monsters
by Silencer39
Summary: Since the dawn of man Remnant has been a chaotic realm filled with destructive forces. On the brink of extinction man made one final desperate play to save itself from the darkness, giving life to the Duel Monsters. Join Team RWBY as they attend Beacon Academy and learn to become the best Duelists of this generation. There will be action, adventure and of course CARD GAMES!
1. Chapter 1 Ruby Rose

**Chapter 1: Ruby Rose**

 _Legends, stories scattered through time._

 _Mankind has grown quite fond of recounting the exploits of heroes and villains, forgetting so easily that we are remnants, by-products, of an age long forgotten._

 _Man, born from the dust, was strong, wise and resourceful, but he was born into a chaotic and uncertain world. Creatures of every size and shape imaginable roamed the lands and claimed it as their domain, and upon first seeing man, saw them as a nuisance._

 _With their sights upon man set, these beings fought to return the fledgling race to the void, cutting short man's brief existence._

 _However, even the smallest spark of hope is enough to ignite change and in time, man's passion, resourcefulness and ingenuity led them to the tools that would even the odds._

 _This power was appropriately named, Dust._

 _Nature's strength in hand, mankind fought back like never before, yet it still wasn't enough. While man's advancements allowed them a fighting chance, it seemed the fight was one they were destined to lose, such was the raw strength of their adversaries._

 _At the brink of defeat, man discovered one final chance. Using their newfound gifts they turned the power of the creatures against themselves. Combining Dust, technology and the power of their very soul man conjured the first Duel Monsters, creatures so similar to their adversaries that few could tell the difference._

 _Sealed away in the form of cards mankind used these monsters to light their way through the darkness that had almost consumed them. The first Duelists had been born warriors who used the power of their own soul to summon great and powerful creatures to defend themselves. With victory came strength, civilisation and most importantly, life._

 _However, even the most brilliant lights eventually flicker and die. And when they are gone… Darkness will return._

 _So, you may prepare your Duelists… Build your monuments to a so-called free world, but take heed… There will be no victory in strength._

"But perhaps victory is in the simpler things that you've long forgotten? Things that require a smaller, more honest soul."

* * *

It was yet another picturesque night in downtown Vale, the shattered moon glowed brightly in the cloudless night sky lighting up the quiet suburbs. Out of a darkened alley strode five men, each moving through the street with a purpose. At the forefront of the group walked a tall man in a white, red-lined suit, his pants were black and he wore a short, grey scarf loosely tied around his neck. Atop his head rested a black bowler hat with a small feather tucked into it that covered much of his orange hair, save for his bangs that stretched down, covering his right eye.

Slowly walking towards the end of the street, the man took a long drag from his cigar as he eyed the small shop across the way. His one visible dark-green eye narrowed and a small smile crept across his face, taking note of the people slowly backing away from him. Clearly they had seen the news, Roman Torchwick, criminal mastermind and debonair gentleman was standing right before them but they had no need to be scared, he had other fish to fry this evening. The whispering grew more hushed as the ruthless criminal strode towards _From Dust Till Dawn_ flanked by his, admittedly, less than ideal lackeys

Coming to a halt in front of the small Dust shop Torchwick couldn't help but let out a small chuckle. "You know boys, they just don't make nice, small time shops like this anymore" Torchwick smirked as he pushed open the door with his cane. It was a pretty standard shop all things considered, Dust valves along the walls for easy access, the front counters were laden with crystals of varying size, shape and colour. Farther in the back sat row upon row of Duel Monster's cards, duel disk parts and other such paraphernalia that left the seasoned criminal more than a little amused.

 _"Such a monopoly they've made over Duel Monsters. Anyone can just up and buy a card and a duel disk but if the card doesn't resonate with the soul then it's just a piece of expensive cardboard"_ Torchwick thought as he strode up to the counter leveling his eye on the old man behind it.

Flicking ash from his cigar down on the counter the seasoned criminal crossed his arms as his black suited men fanned out into the shop. "Do you have any idea how hard it is to find a Dust shop open this late?" Torchwick asked as one of the thugs leveled his gun on the elderly shop owner.

"Please, just take my lien and leave" the shopkeeper pleaded holding his hands up in surrender.

"Shhh, calm down, we're not here for your money" Torchwick soothed before shooting a glance at the rest of his lackeys. "Grab the Dust, cards and duel disks" Torchwick ordered watching with satisfaction as they moved about the spacious shop. _"Maybe Junior was right about this bunch"_ Torchwick mused recalling his latest encounter with the club owner/information broker.

As the group of black suited thugs swept through the store taking anything and everything they could, they failed to notice the young woman standing near the back of the store. An extraordinary feat as she wore a vibrant red-hooded cloak and the music blaring from her red tinted headphones could be heard hallway across the store.

Just as impressive however was the fact that the young woman failed to notice the group of armed thugs ransacking the store around her, including the one directly behind her with a red bladed sword. She just stood there eyes glued to the magazine in her hand as _Last Train_ by Knotlamp resonated through her headphones.

 _"Oh wow! They're already giving us a look at the newest line of cards! Let's see what they have!"_ The young girl thought excitedly flipping through the pages of _Duelists Today_.

"Alright kid, put your hands where I can see them"

 _"Oh cool! The Kaiju look so cool they're like giant movie monsters oh that's so awesome, I can't wait to see how they play!"_ The smile on her face only grew as she read through the effects of the monsters, spells and traps that were being released in a few months.

"Hey! I said hands in the air!"

 _"So you have to tribute your opponent's monsters to summon them? That's awesome! Then you summon your own Kaiju and you battle like an actual monster movie! And they look huge, definitely bigger than any monster I have!"_ She thought giddily at the prospect of summoning even larger monsters than she already did.

"You got a death wish or something?"

The young girl nearly jumped out of her skin when a hand suddenly grabbed her shoulder and turned her around. The girl was even younger than the thug had expected, her fair skin accentuated by her black hair that ended in red tips. But it was her eyes that had caught the thug's attention most of all, he couldn't honestly remember if he ever saw anyone with silver eyes before.

Looking up into the red tinted glasses of the sword wielding thug the young girl could see he was mouthing something but for the life of her she couldn't make out what he was saying. Glancing at the headphones, still belting out music, the thug pointed to the side of his own head to get her to take them off so she could hear him.

Sliding her headphones down so they sat around her neck the girl raised a questioning eyebrow at the armed man, unsure of what he wanted. "Yes?" She asked uncertainly setting the magazine back on the rack behind her.

"I said put your hands in the air, now!" The taller man barked moving his sword more clearly into view.

"Are you robbing me?" The girl asked in mock confusion as her hands slowly slid behind her back, obstructed by her cloak.

"Yes!" The man exclaimed, now utterly done with this strange girl's ridiculous questions.

"Ohhhh" the girl drawled as a small smile crept across her face.

Back at the front of the store Torchwick was busy examining a small red Dust crystal idly as his men took care of the heavy lifting around him. "You know I'm all for making a clean getaway but every once in a while I wouldn't mind a little excitement in one of these jobs" Torchwick sighed pocketing the small crystal just as a brilliant flash of light emanated from the back of the store. Glancing up from the counter he could just make out the sounds of a scuffle going on behind a row of shelves before one of his hired lackeys came sailing across the store, slamming into the wall with a dull thud.

Glancing at the stunned man for a second, Torchwick nodded towards the black suited thug with the handgun beckoning him to go check out the commotion.

"Freeze!" Torchwick heard the man shout before another loud impact thundered through the store. Moving faster than any of the other assembled criminals could see, the armed thug was hurled out of the storefront window by a mass of swirling red and rose colour.

Looking out into the street through the now shattered window, the four remaining criminal's eyes locked on to a towering figure floating just slightly above the ground, and their unconscious comrade. She easily stood over six feet tall, with fair skin and a bob of honeydew hair set in a bob cut, held in place by a golden tiara. Swirling around her was billowing rose coloured cape with an evergreen lining that was held in place to her white and gold trimmed armour by a rose pin. But it was the absurdly large and imposing silver lance resting in her right hand that drew the criminal's attention.

Feeling the familiar energy resonating from the woman and locking eyes with the red caped girl hanging off her shoulder Torchwick sighed, now regretting his earlier request for a more exciting evening. _"I just wanted to hold up a small Dust shop, that's it, nothing special. A little police presence wouldn't have been so bad, but now I have to deal with a Duelist and her monster with an oversized toothpick"_ Torchwick thought sourly as his men looked to him for what to do next, the lance wielding monster having now leveled her piercing violet gaze on them.

Looking at his assembled cronies, the white suited criminal gave an exacerbated eye roll before nodding towards the red caped girl and her warrior. "Okay… Get her" Torchwick pressed motioning towards the towering figure with his cane.

Rushing forward, the three remaining black suited thugs charged the girl and her monster with the two sword wielders leading the charge while the one with automatic rifle held back to line up his shot. One of the sword wielders, the one with the chin strap, took to the left while the other, clean shaven one moved right, looking to attack from both sides simultaneously.

Passing her Duel Monster a quick smirk and a nod the silver eyed girl and lance wielder moved as one with girl sliding down the lancer's shoulder and kicking out with her black and red combat boots. The blow was perfectly timed as the sword wielder on the right was smacked to the ground by the heavy kick knocking his expensive red tinted glasses right off his face. On the pair's other side the second henchman was hurled violently into a concrete wall with an almost lazy swipe of the Duel Monster's silver lance.

Taking his chance at the opening now presented for him, the thug armed with the assault rifle opened fire on the pair. However, moving faster than the lackey could believe the lancer quickly spun around, swirling her rose coloured cape in front of her so the bullets impacted harmlessly against the fabric and protecting the smaller girl at her side. Dashing forward both the lancer and the girl, once more hanging off her shoulder, rushed towards the petrified thug, who dropped the gun in his hand as the pair closed in. Thrusting forward the lancer brought her silver weapon within a hairsbreadth from the man's face resting the tip of her weapon on the henchman's glasses.

The thug's eyes rolled back into his head as he feinted from the close encounter with the deadly weapon. Falling backwards, the man's hat rolled back towards the store where the white suited kingpin still stood taking a long pull on his cigar as he studied the girl and her summoned monster. Sparing a quick glance at his now unconscious accomplices Torchwick let out a small sigh of disappointment, he never expected them to win but they could have at least gone down in more than just one hit.

"You were worth every cent, truly you were" the bowler hat wearing felon muttered before turning his attention back to the caped duo before him. "Well Red I think we can all say it's been an eventful evening" Torchwick called out to the young girl, dropping his now spent cigar to the ground where he extinguished it with the butt of his cane. "Tell you what, since you're a Duelist, how about we have a fun little match? If I win you let me walk away scot-free but if you win I'll let you take me in without a fuss" Torchwick chuckled knowing full well the girl would take the bait.

"You're on!" The silver eyed Duelist exclaimed excitedly without a moment's hesitation, clearly the girl was itching for a Duel. Leaping from her Duel Monster's shoulder the young girl took a few steps forward only to be halted by an armoured hand that held her back. Looking up towards her partner, who was now pointing her lance directly at the white suited criminal just a few short feet away, the young girl gave the monster a quick tug on her rose coloured cape to get her attention.

"It's ok Rose Paladin, I got this in the bag, you don't have to worry about me" the young girl beamed up to the lancer with a wide smile that softened the stoic look on the warrior's face. Hoisting her weapon up to rest on her shoulder Rose Paladin gave Torchwick one last scathing glance before backing away and letting her Duelist move forward. "Seriously, it's gonna be fine… But I may need you later so don't get too comfortable ok?" The young silver eyed Duelist asked with a smirk as the now smiling Paladin began to glow bright pink before being converted to pure energy that raced back into the shorter woman.

"Quite the protective servant you got there Red" Torchwick chuckled as he calmly waited for the girl's approach. _"Just need to stall for a little bit longer, my ride should be here any minute now"_ Torchwick thought to himself as the girl came to a halt just in front of him.

"Rose Paladin's not my servant, she's my friend, just like the rest of my deck" the silver eyed girl pouted cracking her knuckles to look as intimidating as possible and failing spectacularly. "Also the name's Ruby Rose, not Red" Ruby huffed as she pulled out her deck from one of the pouches on her hip. Slipping the deck of cards into the black and red device on her arm Ruby smiled as she held her arm up, watching with glee as the blades on either side of her duel disk rose up to meet forming a crescent blade that slid down to the outside of her arm.

"Well Red, that's a very nice sentiment to have, not very practical, but nice nonetheless. In any case the name's Roman Torchwick, criminal mastermind and all around snappy dresser, perhaps you've heard of me?" The white suited criminal drawled, brushing some dust off the cuff of his sleeves.

"Hmmm… Nope" Ruby replied cheerfully, giggling at the annoyed look on her opponent's face.

"Kids today" Torchwick sighed, before taking a closer look at the duel disk resting on his opponent's arm. "Nice duel disk Red, don't think I've ever seen one like that before" Torchwick chuckled as he slipped his own deck into the slot of his much sleeker duel disk.

"Yeah I made Crescent Rose all by myself" Ruby declared proudly. Glancing at the duel disk on Torchwick's wrist her eyes widened in shock and wonder. "Oh my Dust that's an X-50 hardlight model! Those aren't set for release for another eight months!" Ruby exclaimed as a bright flash of light emanated from his duel disk forming a black hardlight surface with an orange trim that curled around his elbow, forming a cane shape. "How did you get it so early!?" Ruby asked excitedly until she noticed the bemused look on the hardened criminal's face. "Oh… you stole it" Ruby sighed, some of her earlier enthusiasm leaving her as her adversary chuckled.

"I tend to do that Red, now are we gonna keep chatting or are we gonna get this duel on the road?" Torchwick smirked as Ruby readied herself across from him.

"You're on!" Ruby exclaimed as the life point totals on both their devices rocketed from 0 to 8000.

"Then I guess I'll go first" Torchwick smirked as they both drew their opening five cards. Glancing down at the cards in his hand his smirk only grew larger as he quickly put a plan into action. "Looks like I'll be starting by setting two facedowns" Torchwick called out as he placed two cards into the spell and trap card zone. As the two cards slid into place they materialized in front of Torchwick facing down to the ground, their backs emblazoned with the seasoned criminal's emblem of a toothy, smiling jack-o-lantern.

"Next I'll call forth a very special guest, I summon Saggi the Dark Clown (Level 3 Dark Spellcaster ATK: 600 Def: 1500) to the field in attack mode!" Torchwick exclaimed placing the monster card on the hardlight surface of his duel disk. A burst of swirling dark smoke erupted from the surface of Torchwick's duel disk and raced forward slamming into the ground where it quickly dissipated to reveal a sinister looking clown. The clown wore a jester's outfit in various shades of blue and a crooked purple wizard's hat with a red brim, his face coated in white face paint and his mouth turned upwards into demented crooked smile. Saggi cackled sadistically, folding his legs into a cross legged seated position as he rose into the air and glared down at the unfazed silver eyed youth he had been tasked with battling.

"Not a very impressive start" Ruby smirked up at the rather weak looking clown.

"But it's all I'll need to beat you Red, I end my turn" Torchwick returned the smirk the young Duelist had plastered to her face.

"We'll see about that, I draw!" Ruby exclaimed drawing a card from her deck and grinning at the new arrival. "I guess I'll start by summoning Baobaboon (Level 3 Dark Plant ATK: 1200 DEF: 1000) in attack mode!" Ruby exclaimed placing her monster on the crescent blade of her duel disk. A bright flash of light emanated from the card and for a moment it looked like nothing would appear, that is until a small sprout poked out through the hard cement. Looking down at the strange sprout Saggi cackled once again, his lopsided mischievous grin giving him a rather demented look until a rumbling started to shake the street cutting off the dark clown's laughter. Erupting from the ground where the sprout had been was a full grown baobab tree with a disconcerting baboon's face sprouting from the center of the trunk.

"Well that's certainly… interesting" Torchwick muttered as the monkey tree hybrid let out a series of high pitched screeches.

"He's more than just interesting, Baobaboon's effect activates whenever he's summoned to the field, I get to draw one card and then place another card from my hand to either the top or bottom of my deck!" Ruby exclaimed drawing an additional card that had already been provided to her by her duel disk. "I guess I'll be putting this guy at the bottom of my deck" Ruby stated slipping one of the cards in her hand into the bottom of her deck which lifted automatically for her card to be placed.

"Now then back to business, Baobaboon attack Saggi the Dark Clown!" Ruby exclaimed pointing towards the strange looking clown. There was a small rumble as Baobaboon rose out of the ground revealing the four roots that acted as the hybrid's legs and the one that took the place of a monkey tail. Locking its gaze with a now worried Saggi, Baobaboon charged forward with surprising speed for a walking tree heading straight towards Torchwick's only monster.

Glancing back to his master Saggi gave the criminal an imploring look that was returned with a confident nod. "I don't think so Red, I activate the quick-play spell Magical Dimension!" Torchwick announced triggering the activation of one of his facedowns. Flipping over, the quick-play spell let out a large plume of dark smoke and in its place was now a golden sarcophagus bound in iron chains. Coming to a halt Baobaboon eyed the new arrival wearily while Saggi leapt with joy seeming all too eager to see the intimidating artifact.

"So what does it do exactly?" Ruby asked cautiously as she eyed the mysterious object.

"Glad you asked Red, you see first I have to tribute one of my monsters, say bye-bye Saggi" Torchwick said, waving over to his dark clown who gave a mock bow before being converted to dark purple energy that raced into the center of the artifact. "Next I can special summon any spellcaster from my hand to the field, so let me introduce you to one of my 'friends' the Dark Magician!" (Level 7 Dark Spellcaster ATK: 2500 DEF: 2100)

Slowly the golden sarcophagus opened revealing the magician within. Leaping forward the statuesque spellcaster glared down at his master's opponent and her weird looking tree, monkey, thing. He wore plated, maroon armour with a golden trim that rested on top of a similarly coloured flowing robe. He wore a pointed hat that rested over his long grey hair that ran down the either side of his tanned face but still revealing his piercing purple eyes. Ruby took a tentative step back, she had heard of the Dark Magician before but this one was nothing like the descriptions she had read about in the past. This one seemed different, he almost seemed… tainted.

"I wouldn't be getting scared just yet Little Red!" Torchwick called out to Ruby his smile growing at the uncertain look on the young Duelist's face. "It only gets worse from here because Magical Dimension's not through yet! After I summon my spellcaster to the field I then get to destroy a monster on your side of the field and I think that eyesore's been around long enough!" Torchwick exclaimed pointing towards Baobaboon with a confident smirk. With a wave of his enchanted staff, Dark Magician transformed the golden sarcophagus he had emerged from into a pulsing orb of golden energy that he hurled towards Baobaboon with a wicked grin. Baobaboon's eyes widened at the incoming magical blast that slammed into it with tremendous force, scattering bits and pieces of monkey, tree hybrid all across the street.

Ruby's worried look broke into a mischievous grin as the obliterated remains of her monster began to twitch before burrowing into the ground, earning a raised eyebrow from the sinister magician. "I had a feeling you might try something like that, luckily Baobaboon has another effect, whenever he's destroyed…" Ruby was cut off as two more Baobaboons sprouted from the ground to take the place of the first, looking just as ridiculous as their predecessor. "I can special summon two more from my deck to take his place" Ruby smirked, placing two more copies of the tree into defense position.

"Oh great now you have two eyesores" Torchwick drawled, leaning on his cane with an air of boredom.

"Don't forget my Baobaboons' original effect, whenever they're summoned I get to draw a card and then replace it to either the bottom or top of my deck" Ruby said, drawing two new cards before taking two others and placing them on the bottom of her deck. "Before I end my turn I'll set two of my own cards facedown and pass things off to you" Ruby declared placing two of her own cards into the spell and trap card zone where they appeared in front of her. Like Torchwick her cards were also emblazoned with an emblem but instead of a toothy jack-o-lantern hers were marked with a beautiful red rose.

"Sorry to disappoint you Red but those won't be helping you much today" Torchwick chuckled drawing a fresh card from the top of his deck. "I'll start by activating the spell card Dark Magic Attack from my hand!" Torchwick declared sliding a new card into his duel disk. In response his maroon clad wizard rose into the air, the tip of his staff crackling with dark purple energy. "As long as I control Dark Magician than this nifty little spell destroys all spells and traps on your side of the field" Torchwick laughed as his sinister magician unleashed the concentrated magical blast sweeping away both Ruby's Wall of Thorns and Ivy Shackles trap cards.

"Even if they're destroyed my cards can still help me!" Ruby called back to the seasoned criminal as she slid her now destroyed traps into the graveyard slot on Crescent Rose to join Baobaboon. "When you destroy Ivy Shackles I get to draw one card from my deck" the silver eyed Duelist informed drawing another card from her deck bringing the cards in her hand to four.

"You're gonna need all the help you can get Red cause I'm not through with you yet" Torchwick countered as he activated the last card in his hand. "Now I'll use the spell card Thousand Knives! Like Dark Magic Attack I can only activate this card while I control a Dark Magician and it allows me to destroy one monster of the field!" The white clad criminal proclaimed pointing directly at the Baobaboon on the right, whose monkey face drooped as it realised what was coming next. Suddenly a cloud of knives materialised around Torchwick's sinister magician and with a casual flick of his staff the Dark Magician unleashed the maelstrom of daggers all of which found their place in the monkey, tree hybrid.

This time the shredded pieces of the Baobaboon didn't grow into new replacements and Ruby slid her second Baobaboon into the graveyard to join the first. _"Don't worry pal, your sacrifice wasn't in vain"_ Ruby thought as her Aura shrugged off the pain of losing her monster. Duel Monsters may have been cards but to bring them to life they had to first resonate with their Duelist's Aura. As a result they became linked. The closer you were to your cards, your monsters in particular, the more it hurt when one of them was lost. For Ruby it was particularly grueling losing her monsters who were admittedly her closest friends next to her sister.

"Hey pay attention Red! I'm not just doing this for the good of my health" Torchwick called out as his Dark Magician rushed towards the last of Ruby's Baobaboons. Try as he might to fight off the mighty spellcaster, the lowly plant was no match and just like his two brothers was reduced to nothing more than scraps of bark and leaves by the tenacious magician. Luckily he had been in defense mode so Ruby's life points were untouched, the same could not be said for her Aura. "You don't look too good Red, you shouldn't be dueling if you can't take a few losses like that" Torchwick mocked swirling his cane around on the end of his finger playfully.

Looking up into the dark-green eye of the seasoned criminal Ruby scowled pushing aside the pain to draw her next card. If her friends could put themselves on the line to battle with her than the least she could do was bare a portion of their pain. Looking down at her hand Ruby's eyes lit up as she quickly put her next play into action. "I summon Twilight Rose Knight (Level 3 Dark Warrior Tuner ATK: 1000 DEF: 1000) in attack mode!" Ruby declared placing her latest monster onto Crescent Rose's blade. Leaping from the card in a flurry of red rose petals came a swordswoman who was somehow even shorter than Ruby herself. She wore armour similar to Rose Paladin but instead of silver, hers was jet black with red trim and a flowing white cape. Touching down her hair light blue hair cascaded down from underneath her full helm as the petite knight pointed her short sword directly at the towering magician now before her.

"Cute kid Red but I'm afraid my Dark Magician's just a tad stronger" Torchwick chuckled, pinching his thumb and index finger together as Twilight Rose Knight scowled at him.

"She may be lacking raw power but she's still gonna help me kick your butt" Ruby grinned, getting a nod from her newest summon. "I activate Twilight Rose Knight's effect! When she's normal summoned to the field she allows me to special summon a level four or lower plant type monster from my hand and I choose to call out my Revival Rose!" (Level 4 Dark Plant ATK: 1300 DEF: 1300) Upon her summoner's declaration Twilight Rose Knight planted her short sword into the ground before withdrawing it. Out of the newly formed hole grew a thorny stem that branched off into three offshoots each of which instantly bloomed into a stunning red rose, and at the center of each flower was a piercing blue eye with menacing slits for pupils.

Torchwick's eyes narrowed towards the grinning silver eyed duelist across from him suspiciously. _"What is she planning? Two worthless monsters like that aren't going to get her anywhere… unless…Oh Crap!"_ The realisation struck the white suited criminal a moment too late as Ruby held her duel disk into the air.

"I tune level three Twilight Rose Knight with level four Revival Rose!" Ruby exclaimed as Twilight Rose Knight's body faded away revealing three shining orbs that quickly transformed into rings that took to the air. Following the petite knight the three headed rose lifted into the air before fading away to reveal four shining orbs of its own each one nestling in between the rings form by Twilight Rose Knight. The street was suddenly illuminated by a blinding flash of light that forced Torchwick and his magician to cover their eyes. "Flames of beauty bestow life to the pitch-dark flower, I synchro summon Black Rose Dragon! (Level 7 Fire Dragon ATK: 2400 DEF: 1800)" Ruby cried as the light faded and in its place now stood a massive dragon. Its body and wings were shaped like a massive rose all coloured a brilliant shade of crimson with each petal rimmed by a black border. Underneath the petal-like scales the dragon's skin was a menacing black with sharp thorns protruding from her segmented tail and blood red talons at the end of each toe. Floating to the ground gracefully Black Rose Dragon let out a deafening roar as one of her thorny tendrils slowly coiled around her summoner, taking care not to poke her with the copious amounts of spikes spread across her body.

"Impressive lizard you have there Red but still not enough to take me on" Torchwick chuckled ignoring the piercing gaze of the crimson coloured dragon.

"Black Rose is all I need to take you down" Ruby grinned running a loving hand across her dragon's thorny tendril. "I equip Black Rose Dragon with the equip spell card Thorns of Malice!" Ruby declared activating the spell with a quick flick of her wrist. Suddenly Black Rose Dragon let loose another deafening roar as thorns began to spread across her body before leveling her malevolent gaze upon the criminal and his magician once more. "With Thorns of Malice, Black Rose Dragon, or any other plant type monster, gain six hundred additional attack points but the monsters they battle can't be destroyed but they will lose six hundred of their own attack after every battle" Ruby explained as Black Rose Dragon's thorny tendrils rose into the air.

Black Rose Dragon ATK: 3000

"Not good" Torchwick muttered gripping the end of his cane as his Dark Magician passed him a quick glance. "Well Red as much as I'd love to stick around, I'm afraid this is where we must part ways" Torchwick drawled beginning to move away from the duelist and her imposing dragon.

"I don't think so, Black Rose Dragon attack with Rose Whip!" Ruby shouted pointing towards the retreating criminal's spellcaster. Roaring in confirmation Black Rose Dragon unleashed a barrage of thorny tendrils towards Dark Magician who braced for the incoming maelstrom with barred teeth.

"Trap card activate, Black Illusion!" Torchwick decreed from behind his spellcaster, the seasoned criminal's final facedown revealed itself before erupting in a thick black fog that doused the entire street in darkness. Halting her attack Black Rose Dragon instinctively moved to protect Ruby wrapping her wings around the silver eyed Duelist, it was for the best as that trap had nullified her attack anyways.

"Duel cancelled" came the smooth robotic voice from Ruby's duel disk as she tried to peer through the smog.

"What?! Cancelled!?" Ruby exclaimed looking down at Crescent Rose in disbelief. "Black Rose hurry get rid of this fog, we can't let him get away!" Ruby exclaimed. Black Rose Dragon wasted no time in lifting her massive wings into the sky before bringing them down in a flurry of rose petals dispersing the dense cloud of black smoke. Looking around desperately, Ruby's eyes widened when she couldn't find any trace of the criminal until Black Rose Dragon let out a sharp cry locking her gaze upon Dark Magician and his fleeing master. The pair were soaring to the top of a nearby building with Torchwick hanging off of the spellcaster's shoulder plates.

Dipping her wing down so her summoner could climb atop her back, Black Rose Dragon took to the air chasing after the criminal duo leaving and behind the stunned shopkeeper who looked on at the spectacle in disbelief.

Racing to the top of the building in record time Black Rose Dragon touched down with a surprising amount of grace for a dragon so large. Keeping her eyes locked on the pair of escaping criminals Black Rose Dragon let Ruby slide off her back as the pair spun around to face them.

"Well Red I'll give you an A for persistence" Torchwick growled taking a step back allowing his Dark Magician to step between him and the crimson dragon. Suddenly a loud mechanical whine cut through the night as a Bullhead VTOL transport shot into the air blinding Ruby and Black Rose Dragon with its intense flood lights.

By the time they could see once more, both Torchwick and his Dark Magician had leapt into the hold of the flying transport, both smirking down at the pair below. "End of the line Red!" Torchwick shouted throwing the red Dust crystal he had been examining back in _From Dust Till Dawn._ As the small red crystal arced through the air capturing the pair's attention Dark Magician unleashed a powerful magical blast directly at the crystal. For a moment it seemed like the crystal and magical blast of purple energy were suspended in mid-air until the energy became a menacing dark red and erupted in a violent explosion.

Ruby lifted her arms up to shield herself just Black Rose Dragon shrouded her Duelist with her own wings. Both waited for the force of the blast to hit but it never came, they could still hear the roar of the Bullhead directly in front of them but the explosion had all but disappeared. Slowly lowering her wings so Ruby could see Black Rose Dragon let out a soft growl as a new figure stood in front of them.

Ruby's eyes widened upon seeing the towering woman standing in front of them. Well over six feet tall, though that may have had something to do with the heels she was wearing, the woman's light blond hair was tied up in a tight bun allowing only a single curl to run down the right side of her face. Her sharp features were only accentuated by her shining emerald eyes and wireframe glasses. She wore a long white, long-sleeved, pleated top that had a wide keyhole neckline that revealed just a bit of her ample cleavage. Her lower body was covered by a black pencil skirt with a high waist. And lastly, draped over her shoulders was a billowing black cape with a purple interior.

Floating just over the towering woman's head were a pair of strange magenta cylinders, each adorned with a ring of black diamonds and a series of white question marks. One of the cylinders was pulsing with red energy and rattling as if trying to contain the immense power trapped inside while the other simply floated along silently. "Magic Cylinder, return fire!" The statuesque woman commanded and with a flick of the riding crop in her hand the second cylinder unleashed the energy stored in the first. The immense blast raced towards the Bullhead, or to be more specific towards Roman Torchwick, at a blistering speed. Diving in front of his master Dark Magician took the brunt of the attack exploding in a burst of purple light and throwing Torchwick against the back of the Bullhead with a loud crash.

"We got a real Duelist!" Torchwick groaned as he stumbled towards the cockpit to take over flying so _she_ could deal with Ruby and this new arrival.

The blond haired Duelist took a step towards the Bullhead as a card lifted itself from a deck floating by the woman's side. Flicking her riding crop towards the flying transport the towering woman unleashed a Magical Blast from the card that struck against the hull threatening to knock it clean out of the air. Advancing forward with a look of grim determination the woman came to a halt as another figure stepped onto the deck of the ship.

 _"No! That can't be, I know that power!"_ The blond haired Duelist thought in shock just as the silver eyed girl to her right ran up beside her with her dragon in tow.

"Black Rose Dragon, bring that ship down with Black Rose Flare!" Ruby commanded pointing towards the bullhead and failing to see the golden fire swelling within. Obeying the girl's command Black Rose Dragon lifted her head back before unleashing a stream of purple and black flames from her mouth towards the transport. The stream of fire slammed into the now wall of golden fire before being extinguished by the more powerful conflagration. Looking up in disbelief Ruby's eyes only grew wider as the wall of golden fire erupted from the Bullhead and raced towards the trio on the roof.

Acting quickly the towering woman flicked her riding crop once more calling forward a monster from her floating deck this time. "Kuriboh come forth and protect us!" The woman commanded as a literal ball of fur burst from the card. Looking up at the approaching fire storm the tiny fluff ball sighed before holding out its tiny arms and absorbing the deadly fire with his tiny body. The intense heat blast seemed to go on forever but once it finally subsided the trio raised their heads to see that the bullhead was now gone and in its place was a single scorched Kuriboh grumbling at its own rotten luck.

"Oh my Oum! You're Glynda Goodwitch!" Ruby exclaimed looking up at the emerald-eyed Duelist with wonder and barely contained excitement. Looking down at the energetic girl in front of her Glynda scowled as the girl squealed in excitement. "Can I have your autograph!?"

* * *

"I hope you realise your actions tonight will not be taken lightly, young lady" Glynda stated as she continued to pace back and forth in the interrogation room of the Vale City police department. Apparently helping thwart robberies and attempting to apprehend dangerous criminals were not actions that came with complimentary autographs. They had now been inside the police department for nearly twenty minutes and Ruby could feel her friends in her deck reach out to her in sympathy as Glynda continued her tirade.

"You put yourself and others in great danger!" Glynda continued though her voice had now taken on a softer tone as she turned to face Ruby directly.

"But they started it!" Ruby exclaimed, though her outburst appeared to fall on deaf ears as the emerald eyed Duelist was now busy looking over footage of her duel with Roman Torchwick.

"If it were up to me you would be sent home, with a pat on the back…" Glynda said softly which made Ruby break out in an ecstatic grin. "…And a slap on the wrist!" The professional Duelist stated harshly, smacking her riding crop down on the table where Ruby jumped back with a startled 'eep!' Letting out a small sigh Glynda retracted her riding crop from the table before looking back down at Ruby. "But there is someone here who would like to meet you" the strict woman sighed as she stepped to the left to reveal the now open doorway.

Standing in the doorframe was an incredibly tall man with a steaming cup of coffee in one hand and plate full of chocolate chip cookies in the other. Ruby had trouble keeping her eyes on the grey haired man now standing in front of her as her gaze kept drifting over to plate of confectionary delights. The man wore a typical black suit with a dark green shirt and trousers. He wore a pair of shaded glass spectacles and a small, purple, cross-shaped pin on the olive-green cowl around his neck. "Ruby Rose…" The man said leaning in closer to get a better look at the young girl sitting behind the table. "You… have silver eyes" it was more a statement than a question.

"Uh umm…" Ruby stammered unsure of how to respond to the offhand comment.

"So, where did you learn to do this?" The man asked nodding his head towards the scroll in Glynda's hand showing snippets of her duel with Roman Torchwick and her subsequent chase after the white suited criminal.

"… Signal Academy" Ruby replied uncertainly. Glynda yelling at her she could handle but this fresh line of questioning had taken her completely off guard.

"They taught you to interact with Duel Monsters like this?" The mysterious man questioned indicating the parts of the video where Ruby and Rose Paladin had fought off Torchwick's thugs as well as the parts where she climbed atop Black Rose Dragon and rode her to the roof.

"Well, one teacher in particular" Ruby replied still unsure of how this interrogation was going, good cop, bad cop she could handle but this was just unnerving.

"I see" the man muttered, almost to himself as he slid the plate full of cookies over to Ruby. For the briefest of moments the silver eyed Duelist hesitated before finally succumbing to her urges and taking one of the delectable treats… and then another… and another and before Ruby could stop herself she was wolfing down the rest of the plate in seconds. She could almost feel Rose Paladin's disapproving stare emanating from the deck at her waist.

"it's just I've only ever seen one other Duelist who can interact with their Duel Monsters in such a flawless manner, a dusty old Qrow" the man mused, though he could practically hear his friend shouting at him to never call him old.

"Mmmm! Thash muh unkul!" Ruby replied, though her mouth was stuffed with cookie and chocolate. Swallowing the remaining baked goods Ruby wiped her mouth with her sleeve before smiling sheepishly up at the green clad man before her. "Sorry, that's my uncle Qrow. He's a teacher at Signal, I was complete garbage before he took me under his wing. Now I'm all like – Hooowaaah! Witchaaaa!" Ruby exclaimed waving her arms back and forth and karate chopping the air.

"So I've noticed" the man chuckled at the young girl's display. "And what is an adorable girl such as yourself doing at a school designed to train Duelists?" The lanky man asked setting his still steaming cup of coffee down on the table between them.

"Well I want to be a professional Duelist" Ruby stated with a resolve the man had not quite expected from the bubbly girl. "I only have two more years of training left at Signal and then I'm going to apply at Beacon" Ruby continued looking back and forth from Glynda to the green garbed man who had now taken a seat across from her. "You see my sister's starting there this year and she's trying to become a Duelist and I want to become a Duelist 'cause I wanna help people and keep the world safe! My parents always taught us to help others, so I thought, 'Hey I might as well make a career out of it!' I mean the police are alright but Duelists are just so much more romantic and exciting and really, gosh, you know!?" Ruby exclaimed not realising the excited tirade she just let loose.

There was a long stretch of silence as both Glynda and the green clad man looked at Ruby with bemused expressions. "Do you know who I am?" The man asked smiling at the excitable girl in the chair opposite him.

"You're Professor Ozpin, you're the headmaster at Beacon" Ruby replied confidently.

"Hello" Ozpin replied with a smirk nodding his head towards the red clad girl.

"Nice to meet you" Ruby responded matching the headmaster's smirk with her own.

"You want to come to my school?" Ozpin asked leaning in closer towards the energetic girl.

"More than anything" Ruby responded earnestly.

Glancing over to Glynda with a quirk of his eyebrow and a smirk that the disciplined woman knew all too well, Glynda replied with a soft scoff allowing Ozpin to do as he pleased, he usually did anyway. "Well okay" Ozpin replied reaching out with his hand. Ruby nearly jumped over the table in her attempt to shake it. "Welcome to Beacon Academy Miss Rose" Ozpin stated with a warm smile as the silver eyed girl squealed at the top of her lungs before dashing out of the room at an unimaginable speed leaving behind a trail of rose petals in her wake.

Reaching down Professor Ozpin lifted one of the petals up to examine it with his soft brown eyes. "Very much like her mother, wouldn't you agree Glynda?" Ozpin mused as his second in command rounded on him.

"Yes the resemblance is uncanny, but I believe that we have more pressing matters to address" Glynda stated showing Ozpin the footage of Roman Torchwick's mystery accomplice. While the video failed to get a good view of the person inside the Bullhead it did get a clear view of the golden wall of flames, flames that Ozpin was all too familiar with.

"Yes it seems that Mr. Torchwick has affiliated himself with some rather dangerous individuals. And you are very lucky that our assailant was only at half strength" Ozpin stated, taking a brief drink from his mug. "I doubt even you would have been able to withstand a full power Blaze Cannon at that range" Ozpin said as he got up from his seat. Heading to the door Ozpin took one last look at the rose petal in his hand before sighing and leaving the interrogation room behind.

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** **Hello everyone Silencer here with a brand new story, just a disclaimer I have not forgotten about my other stories, I just had to get this one started as the thought came to me and I just had to roll with it. In fact Chapter 2 of Predator: A Matter of Honour will be coming out within the week so get ready for that. Admittedly this is my first crossover story and I will admit that I'm unsure if this is truly a crossover as no characters, save monsters, from Yu-Gi-Oh will be appearing in it, so if you guys think it would be better to classify this as just a regular RWBY story involving card games then please let me know.**

 **On to the story, so I'm treating this chapter as a replacement for the Red Trailer as I found I could better use the Dust robbery as a better way to convey the tone and story while still giving you an idea of how combat in this story will work. So the key difference here is Huntsmen and Huntresses have been replaced by Duelists in my story but much of the RWBY setting remains the same. Aura, Dust and Semblances are all still a thing but implemented in different ways due to the use of Duel Monsters. Certain characters will still be using their weapons from the show but for reasons that match their character for instance Adam will still be using Wilt and Blush, because he's super edgy like that, but he will also have a deck of his own.**

 **However, most weapons will have been converted into unique duel disks as we saw here with Ruby. Also the decks each character uses I've personally built to match their personalities and backstories, part of me would like to see how many of you can guess which characters will use what deck, some will be pretty obvious (Yang) while others like let's say Velvet may take people by surprise. I will go into greater detail later in the story as to how specifically the summoned monsters work but for the time being all you need to know is that the monsters summoned are 100% real and not holograms. Also every card I will be using is an actual real card, no anime cards will be used so each character's deck is 100% plausible to make and if my descriptions of monsters are not quite up to snuff you can always look them up on google to get a better idea.**

 **Another thing to note is that yes there will be White Rose in this story as well as some of my personal favourite pairings but I must stress this is not a romance story. It is about adventure and card games with some bits of romance scattered about and so though Ruby and Weiss will get together, eventually, it's not the focus of the story.**

 **If anyone has questions feel free to ask away this is a brand new story and if you're unsure of some aspect of it feel free to let me know. Also definitely let me know how you like the concept this idea just came to me and I had to get it out before it slipped away so I'm hoping it doesn't seem rushed.**

 **Alright everyone until next time! Up next Weiss Schnee and her Royal Test!**


	2. Chapter 2 Weiss Schnee

**Chapter 2: Weiss Schnee**

 _"What a complete waste of time."_

That was all that ran through the mind of Weiss Schnee, heiress to the Schnee Dust Corporation, as she strode through the halls of the manor she begrudgingly called home. Her white, wedge-heeled boots clacked steadily as she traversed the empty halls passing paintings, sculptures and other ostentatious works of art her father had collected over the years. Those halls were truly a testament to her family's immense wealth, and it was one of the main reasons she wanted to get away.

 _"Perhaps I should make him wait…"_ Weiss thought bitterly as she turned a corner that would lead to the training grounds. It had now been over a week since the Schnee heiress had declared her desire to study abroad at Beacon Dueling Academy. Since then her father had been uncharacteristically silent on the subject, the most she got as a response was a simple ' _we'll see'_ and nothing more.

Then after almost a full week of silence Weiss' father asked, or to be more specific demanded, that she meet him in the training hall at four o'clock sharp. Passing a quick glance at her scroll her lips twitched in seeing she was going to be five minutes early. Weiss grit her teeth as she put more thought into his recent actions. She honestly wasn't sure what enraged her more, that he had seemingly brushed aside her declaration as if it were nothing or that it had taken him over a week to properly address the issue.

So engrossed in her own thoughts was the Heiress that she failed to notice the somewhat portly figure standing in front of her until she bumped into him. "What the... Oh, I'm sorry Klein I didn't realise you were there" Weiss apologized to the family butler just as he let out a jovial chuckle.

"Don't fret Ms. Schnee, I'm simply doing my rounds" the balding man stated, while straitening his light blue tie.

"Oh really? With none of your usual cleaning implements?" Weiss asked knowingly, she took a second to pass a studious eye over the moustachioed butler. He wore his usual black plants as well as his buttoned vest with a white long sleeved shirt underneath it, but apart from the pocket watch he kept on him at all times there was no sign of his usual cleaning instruments. Despite being loyal to the Schnee family he always seemed to find a way to bend a rule here or there for the benefit of herself and Winter and for that Weiss was eternally grateful.

"Well I may have also heard you were meeting with your father in the training room today and perhaps I wanted to wish you a spot of luck" Klein chuckled giving the heiress a playful wink that brought a rare smile to her face. The man exuded good-natured charm and unlike most of the people in Atlas that she dealt with, it wasn't fake.

"Thank you Klein" Weiss gave the butler and long-time friend a rare, genuine smile as well as a light hug that he was more than happy to return.

"Now I believe I've wasted enough of your time for now, do remember that the concert will be at eight o'clock, simply message me if you need anything" the balding butler continued, giving a small bow to the young heiress before walking passed her and down the hall. Weiss' genuine smile grew more strained as Klein slowly made his way away from her. Looking back to the door in front of her, Weiss' thoughts had once again refocused on the coming meeting with her father.

"One more thing…" Klein's voice echoed from down the hall. Weiss didn't even have to turn around to see the balding butler's red eyes or notice his change in demeanour. His accented voice had become harsher, revealing another of the many sides of Klein Sieben. "Knock him dead Snowflake" Klein called out just before rounding the corner leaving Weiss alone in front of the reflective door that led to the training grounds.

"I will" Weiss whispered glancing up and into her reflection. Though she wanted to look strong and determined her reflection said otherwise. On the surface she looked the same as ever, her posture was the picture of elegance as her thigh-length strapless dress shifted slightly with her movements. The gradation from white to blue had always been a favourite of hers and the colour scheme was also reflected in her red lined bolero. Her hair was strikingly white and tied into an off center bun tail that was held in place by a snowflake shaped tiara. But it was her eyes that truly reflected the heiress' mood. Behind those piercing blue eyes was an overwhelming look of uncertainty, she didn't know what was on the other side of that door and a small part of her was scared to find out.

Taking a deep breath she pushed the door open and marched into the training grounds with head held high. She may not have felt as confident as she looked but she wouldn't let anyone else think that about her, least of all her father. As she marched through the Schnee training grounds she passed a cursory glance at her surroundings. Everything was the same as she remembered, the cathedral-like training grounds were utterly devoid of life, save for the single figure standing patiently in the center with hands behind his back. Weiss immediately ground to a halt upon seeing the man and could already feel the outrage bubbling up within her.

"Good afternoon Ms. Schnee, I hope you're doing well" the man grinned, pushing his oval glasses up his nose. The man wore a pristine black business suit with a white shirt underneath and navy blue tie. His hair was gleaming silver and slicked back revealing his sizable forehead that reflected some of the light coming from the fixtures above.

"What are you doing here Garret? I'm supposed to be meeting my father" Weiss growled, glaring at the black suited businessman. Garret Argentite, her father's right hand man and all around slimy rat, had always rubbed Weiss the wrong way. Whether it be his slicked back silver hair, his condescending attitude or the looks of disdain she had caught him passing her and her siblings on more than one occasion.

"Unfortunately he was called away on urgent business, something about a train robbery, nothing for you to worry yourself about" Garret stated waving away the heiress' inquiry vapidly. "As for myself, well your father has entrusted me to oversee the test he has set for you" the businessman continued looking around the training grounds before leveling gaze back on Weiss.

"Test?" Weiss asked uncertainly, her eyes narrowing suspiciously as a wide grin spread across the silver haired slime ball's face. She could already tell she wasn't going to enjoy where this was going.

"Well of course!" Garret exclaimed excitedly, clasping his hands together at the look of confusion spreading across the heiress' face. "You see, your father explained to me the demands you made of him last week and so rather than just saying 'no' he decided to turn this into a sort of lesson" Garret continued his grin spreading as Weiss' eyes narrowed towards him.

"And what prey tell must I do to pass this… 'test?'" Weiss growled keeping her gaze fixed on the man in front of her.

"It's quite simple really, all you need to do is win a single duel. If you think you're capable of attending Beacon Academy than surely you must be capable of that?" Garret chuckled at the look of utter contempt Weiss was throwing in his direction.

"So I win this duel you've set up for me and father will allow me to go to Beacon?" Weiss asked sceptically, this seemed far too easy.

"Precisely, you will be allowed to attend Beacon Academy and your father has given his word not to interfere while you are there, so long as you properly represent the Schnee family of course" Garret replied placing his hands behind his back once more. "However should you fail, you will stay here in Atlas where your father can keep a close eye on you… at all times" the black suited businessman stated clearly enjoying the brief look of panic that swept over the heiress at the conditions of her loss.

After almost a minute of contemplation Weiss let out a derisive scoff. "Very well, I accept this insipid challenge, now who will be my opponent? Certainly not you" Weiss smirked at the brief look of annoyance on Garret's face as he straightened the tie around his neck.

"Not quite, as I'm sure you know, I'm incapable of summoning a Duel Monster, but we believe we may have found a workaround" Garret smirked beginning to walk towards the eastern wall of the training grounds where a door had already opened for him. Garret passed one last mocking glance back at the Schnee heiress as the door began to close, shutting Weiss off from the businessman, much to her satisfaction. "Just wait right there Ms. Schnee, your opponent will arrive shortly" the black suited lackey called out one last time before the doors closed completely.

"A duel, all of this for a single duel, this truly was a waste of time" Weiss muttered under her breath as she glanced around waiting for her mystery opponent. "Well let's get this over with then" Weiss sighed raising her right arm into the air to let the sleeve of her bolero fall revealing the glistening duel disk already clasped to her forearm. Myrtenaster, the duel disk given to Weiss by her mother, before her father had sucked the last vestiges of life from her, was far sleeker than your run of the mill duel disk.

The main body of the device was coloured a silvery-grey that, to Weiss' knowledge, had never once needed to be polished. Myrtenaster clung to the front of Weiss' right forearm and possessed four prongs that extended from the front of the device and stretched to the back. As the Schnee heiress readied her duel disk the top of the device lifted revealing docks for both Weiss' deck and graveyard. Looking down at the device, a small smile spread across Weiss' face as she looked at her most prized possession and the intricate runes that traced their way across the surface.

"Oh good you've already prepared" Garret's snide voice rang out across the training grounds and Weiss had to do everything in her power not to grind her teeth together.

 _"Hiding up in the control booth? Surprise, surprise, he's probably too busy licking father's boots"_ Weiss thought with a snort. It was no secret that Garret wanted nothing more than to take command of the Schnee Dust Company. It was also no secret that he despised the Schnee children because they got first pick of the position for simply being born. It was one of the few times Weiss was truly appreciative for her inherent status.

"I'm still waiting for this 'challenger' you spoke of" Weiss drawled drawing her deck from its holder at her waist. Taking the time to casually shuffle the cards, Weiss did her best to give off an air of disinterest towards the whole situation. Under normal circumstances a single duel would have been nothing to fret over, in fact Weiss felt as though she could use the practice. The problem stemmed from the man coordinating the match. Garret wanted what Weiss was given at birth, he wanted the shot to take over her grandfather's company. So why was he coordinating this match? If she won then she would leave for Vale, allowing Garret a better shot at the company. However if she stayed in Atlas then that position would forever be locked away from him. The thought of him getting someone to throw the match had crossed her mind but she quickly disregarded that line of thought, Garret was many things but a quitter wasn't one of them.

Weiss' thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a low rumble that seemed to shake the entire confines of the training grounds. "What is the meaning of this?" Weiss called out to Garret planting her foot down to steady herself.

"Your challenger has arrived Ms. Schnee, just as I said" the businessman's voice echoed in the cavernous training grounds, just as the floor opened at Weiss' feet revealing a darkened square chasm. Leaping back Weiss glared at the hole as a figure was slowly raised from the darkness. One look at the monstrosity that emerged made Weiss' blood run cold. It looked like one of the ancient armours that resided within the manor but this was no stationary suit of armour. That much was made clear to Weiss as it slowly rose to its feet.

It stood over ten feet tall dwarfing Weiss with its height alone and was nearly four times as wide. The creature before her was encased in armour as black as midnight with white trim that laced throughout its structure. It wore a black cape with a red lining that flowed down from its shoulders and was held in place by a pair of snowflake shaped clasps. On its head rested a rather boxy looking helmet with a t-shaped visor that seemed to be filled with an inky darkness. That is until its head tilted up and locked its gaze on Weiss, the moment the creature's gaze fell upon the Schnee heiress a pair of crimson flashes of light emanated from the t-shaped void in the helmet. The creature's burning gaze bore into Weiss as the heiress took a tentative step backwards.

"What the hell is this Garret?!" Weiss snarled up at the control room where the aforementioned businessman was, no doubt, loving the position he had placed the heiress into.

"Isn't it obvious? It's your opponent" Garret replied through the intercom system.

"You said I would be dueling someone, not going up against a… whatever this is!" Weiss shouted back reaching for her deck and waiting for the towering knight to make the first move.

"And you are, you see we've been working on a little pet project and this is our first real test run" Garret replied nonchalantly. "If this test goes well it will make Duelists, such as yourself, obsolete. As for what this is… well don't you worry yourself about that" Garret chuckled over the intercom as the armoured knight rose to its full height.

Weiss was no fool, she had felt the presence of the Grimm before and this armoured monstrosity reeked of it. As if to validate her thoughts she could feel her deck roiling in response to the knight's presence. The Duel Monsters had been created to fight the Grimm and her deck was practically shouting at her to let them loose on Garret's little project.

"Now if you're done gawking Ms. Schnee I would like to wrap this up some time today" the black suited businessman continued with a soft chuckle. At Garret's words an electrical surge coursed through the armoured creature causing it to roar in pain and hardening Weiss' gaze as the creature thrashed about. After a prolonged minute of electrical torture the armoured knight thrust its arm out from behind its billowing cloak revealing a dull metal duel disk. The device was far larger than the average duel disk, no doubt enlarged to accommodate for its user's size.

 _"Those fools are actually trying to control the Grimm!"_ Weiss couldn't decide what was more shocking. That her father's company was attempting such a ludicrous tactic or that it actually seemed to be working. Sparing one final glance back at where the control room was situated it all became clear what Garret's plan was. If this dueling monstrosity actually defeated her then that would put him in her father's good graces leaving him more inclined to back this asinine project. True the position of ownership would officially slip from the man's grasp but it would be replaced by full backing for this abominable research.

"So are you still willing to take part in our little test Ms. Schnee?" Garret asked his voice oozing with barely restrained contempt. He wanted her to back down, he wanted her to give up, he wanted to break the ice queen… he was going to be disappointed.

"As if you even had to ask" Weiss scoffed as she drew four differently coloured Dust crystals from the pouch located on her left side. Releasing the crystals into the air, each one floated just in front of the heiress before a shining white glyph in the shape of a snowflake expanded from the center of each. Two of the glyphs connected with one another with a shining white beam of energy and a moment later the second pair followed suit. With a brilliant flash of light the Dust crystals shattered supercharging the glyphs that were connected with each other forming a solid bridge of white energy that would serve as the heiress' monster and spell zones.

"Excellent! Then I do believe, as this is simply a test, we will make it an exhibition match. Only four thousand life points, I think that sounds fair don't you?" Garret drawled from the safety of the control room keeping his eyes fixed on the resolute Heiress.

"Whatever" Weiss muttered, knowing full well that she had little choice in the matter. Looking down at the life point display she watched as it quickly rose from zero to four thousand with distaste. With only four thousand life points there was far less room for error, not that she would make one to begin with. Taking a deep breath Weiss drew her first five cards as the two solid platforms of energy drifted down in front of her. Much like the keys of a piano they came to rest in front of her illuminating her already pale features with an otherworldly glow.

"Ready? Duel!" Both Weiss and Garret exclaimed simultaneously.

 **Weiss: 4000LP**

 **Armoured Knight: 4000LP**

"I'll go first" Weiss stated, glancing down at her hand and quickly forming her opening strategy. She had no way of knowing what this thing, or to be more specific Garret, had in store for her so her best option would be to start defensively. "I'll set a monster in defense mode" Weiss called out placing her Aurora Wing face down on top of the monster card glyph and watching as a similar card appeared before her laying horizontally, its back emblazoned with the Schnee emblem of a twelve point snowflake.

"Next I set two cards face down" Weiss declared placing down two cards onto her spell and trap glyph, that appeared before her just as her first card had. _"Eisbahn will ensure that he won't be able to attack me if he's not using water monsters and Torrential Reborn will bring back Aurora Wing if he manages to destroy her"_ Weiss thought confidently.

"Lastly I activate the field spell Lemuria, the Forgotten City!" Weiss exclaimed placing the field spell on the far side of the spell and trap glyph. Thrusting Myrtenaster into the air Weiss felt her Aura begin to weaken as the spell came to life, shaping the training area around her. Water began to flood the surrounding area, issuing from the Schnee heiress. Slowly a massive structure began to rise from the water's surface. It was an expansive building made from exquisite marble and lined with countless columns. The building had a triangular roof with a small tower jutting out of the top and as more of the structure rose from the waters Weiss could feel herself rise along with it.

Now standing at the top of a massive marble staircase Weiss glared down at the imposing knight before her as the rest of the buildings rose from the churning waters. The knight had managed to hop onto a smaller structure choked in weeds and ivy before the flood waters had taken hold and was now returning the Schnee heiress' gaze. Letting out a small sigh Weiss lowered her arm now that the spell had finally taken effect. Field spells were some of the most physically taxing to use as they used their Duelist's Aura to alter the entire landscape around them. It was for this reason that only the most expert Duelists could actually use them.

"As long as Lemuria, the Forgotten City is on the field all water attributed monsters have their attack and defense increased by two hundred!" Weiss declared sweeping her arm over their new surroundings.

"I'm well acquainted with your deck and how it functions Ms. Schnee, I would not have offered my services if I had not first performed the adequate amount of research" Garret chuckled over the intercom system. "Now if that's all you're going to do then I do believe it's our turn" the businessman's voice did little to mask the excitement he was feeling at finally being able to put his project to the test.

Up in the sealed control room of the training facility Garret stood beside a pair of his personal lab technicians watching the duel below them with a playful glint in his eye. Today was going to be a fantastic day not only did his project finally get the test run it sorely needed but he was finally going to put that spoiled brat in her place. Turning towards the technician to his right Garret gave him a quick nod and the man input a series of commands into his console. Upon the commands being sent, Garret leaned forward eagerly, watching as the armoured knight responded to the commands being forwarded to it with barely contained glee.

Weiss watched as the knight drew a card from its duel disk and added to its hand slowly. Its movements were slow and clunky but the fact that Garret had somehow gotten it to function at all was nothing short of astounding to the heiress.

Weiss looked on apprehensively as her armoured foe's movements began to become more fluid with each passing second. "Since you control more than two spells and traps we can special summon Escher the Frost Vassal (Level 4 Water Aqua ATK: 800 DEF: 1000) in defense mode" Weiss' eyes widened in surprise at the declaration. No longer was Garret's voice coming from the intercom system it seemed to be coming directly from the knight itself.

Just as the knight placed the aforementioned monster onto its duel disk a shard of ice began to rise from the swirling depths of Lemuria, the Forgotten City. The crystalline structure rose into the air where it shattered to reveal a cross legged figure. It wore armour made of ice with rounded pauldrons, a short red cape and a blue helmet with a wide circular brim. The Duel Monster's piercing yellow eyes were fixed on Weiss who crossed her arms towards the seemingly weak monster.

"I hope you have something more substantial than that Garret!" Weiss called out eyeing the creature with a look of distaste. _"It's water attributed so Eisbahn won't affect it, most of this deck is probably water as well"_ Weiss thought bitterly, Garret had indeed done his homework.

"We're only getting started Ms. Schnee, next I activate the continuous spell Return of the Monarchs!" Just as Garret's voice made his declaration the armoured knight activated the spell. The spell in question rose from the depths just as Escher had only instead of a figure it was a green spell card depicting a monstrous figure exploding from the earth in a shower of rubble. "Now I tribute Escher the Frost Vassal to tribute summon Mobius the Frost Monarch! (Level 6 Water Aqua ATK: 2400 DEF: 1000)

Escher leaned his head back as cracks began to spread across his body until finally the cross legged Duel Monster exploded in a shower of icy shards that formed a solid block of ice on top of the swirling waters of Weiss' field spell. The newly formed ice float then erupted in a swirling torrent of snow that only subsided when Garret's new monster had taken to the field. Taller than even the knight who had summoned it, Mobius the Frost Monarch was clad in rounded cerulean armour and wore a billowing navy blue cape with a red lining. Just like Escher before him, Mobius also possessed piercing yellow eyes, however these ones seemed to bore into the ivory haired Duelist with barely contained malice.

"Now that introductions are out of the way let me acquaint you with Mobius' effect. When Mobius is summoned to the field his effect activates and allows me to destroy two spell and trap cards on your side of the field, so say goodbye to your face downs!" Garret declared and in response to his declaration Mobius slammed his fist into the ground where a wave of frost raced across the field, freezing the waters of Lemuria until it swept over Weiss' face downs, encasing them in ice before shattering them like glass.

"Not bad for a lapdog" Weiss winced as the cold wind swept passed her. Slipping her destroyed traps into Myrtenaster's graveyard, located behind the port for the deck, Weiss fixed her gaze on the towering monarch that she now faced with a look of grim determination. _"Even if that brute destroys Aurora Wing, her effect will bring her back to the field immediately after being destroyed by battle"_ Weiss thought keeping her visage as neutral as possible to keep Garret from getting any inkling on what she had planned.

"Call me whatever names you want Ms. Schnee I simply did my research" Garret chuckled. "Now Return of the Monarchs will take effect, whenever I successfully tribute summon a monster to the field I can add to my hand a monster with an attack of either twenty-four hundred or twenty-eight hundred that has one thousand defense. I think adding Mobius the Mega Monarch will do nicely, don't you?" the black suited businessman drawled as the knight withdrew a fresh monster from its deck.

"Next I activate Frost Blast of the Monarchs!" Garret exclaimed revealing a new spell card that transformed into a chilling wind that swirled around Mobius as it glared at Weiss, or to be more specific Weiss' face down monster. "As long as I control a monster with twenty-four hundred or more attack and one thousand defense I can destroy one set card on the field, so let's sweep away that measly defense of yours."

At Garret's words the swirling cloud of frozen air rushed forward slamming into Weiss' facedown monster and shattering it just as Mobius had destroyed her traps. Through gritted teeth Weiss slipped Aurora Wing into the grave, now utterly defenseless against the armoured knight's coming attack. "Ah so that was Aurora Wing, you do have a tendency to lead with her don't you Ms. Schnee?" Garret drawled as the knight and Mobius began to make their way up the marble stairs Weiss stood upon.

Coming to a halt just a few short feet away, the armoured knight and his monarch were now on level ground with the Schnee heiress. Taking a small step back from the imposing duo Weiss tried her best to gather her Aura for the coming blow, with no defenses left she had nothing to stop a direct attack.

As if reading her thoughts Garret let out a mirthless chuckle just as the knight raised its arm. Weiss felt a lump form in her throat as the knight pointed directly towards her. "Completely defenceless, I wish you were like this more often, however if that were the case I guess it would make this moment less special" Garret chuckled darkly from the safety of the control booth. "Now since your field spell boosts the attack of all water monsters that means Mobius' attack is raised to a respectable twenty-six hundred. Go Mobius the Frost Monarch attack her directly with Freeze Burst!" Garret exclaimed and at the businessman's command Mobius thrust both hands forward unleashing a concentrated blizzard towards Weiss.

Eyes widening in shock at the coming tempest Weiss barely had enough time to raise her arms to shield herself before the blast of frigid air swept her off her feet and slammed her hard into a marble pillar. Crying out in pain Weiss dropped to the floor in a heap, ice clinging to her arms and legs that had taken the brunt of the attack. She could feel her Aura surging trying to dull the pain coursing through her body as she slowly got to her feet. It certainly wasn't the worst hit she had ever taken but that didn't mean it tickled either. Glancing down at Myrtenaster Weiss grit her teeth together upon seeing just how low her life points had dipped from one attack but such were the risks of exhibition duels, one wrong move and half your life points were gone.

 **Weiss: 1400LP**

 **Armoured Knight: 4000LP**

"Well that was certainly therapeutic, I suppose I'll set two cards face down and call it a turn" Garret said from the confines of the control room. In response to the slime ball's declaration his armoured knight placed two face down cards onto its duel disk where they promptly appeared before him.

Glancing down Weiss felt a surge of annoyance at seeing her own family's emblem emblazoned upon the back of _his_ cards. _"The nerve of that weaselly, pompous blowhard! If he thinks he can just parade around using my family's crest he has another thing coming!"_ Weiss was positively seething at this fresh development. As Weiss' turn came around she drew a fresh card for her draw phase.

"I'll begin my turn by activating Pot of Greed!" Weiss declared placing the spell card onto her spell and trap glyph with a quick flick of her wrist. "With this card I'm allowed to draw two new cards from my deck" Weiss continued, drawing two new cards from the top of her deck bringing her hand's size to three.

"Now I summon Blizzard Thunderbird (Level 4 Water Winged-Beast ATK: 1600 DEF: 1400) to the field in attack position!" Weiss announced as a burst of snow erupted from Myrtensaster. The swirling torrent of snow condensed into a tightly packed ball until it exploded outward revealing Weiss' newest summon. Blizzard Thunderbird was a faceless woman encased in crystalline navy blue armour with golden spines that stretched out from her back. In her hands she wielded a two sided lance with a snowflake shaped guard.

"Next I'll activate Blizzard Thunderbird's effect, by discarding one card I can return Blizzard Thunderbird to my hand to special two winged-beasts to take her place, one from my hand and one from my grave!" Weiss decreed slipping one of the cards in her hand into the graveyard and returning Blizzard Thunderbird from its glyph to her hand. "Now I special summon Aurora Wing (Level 4 Water Winged-Beast ATK: 1200 DEF: 1600) from my grave and Blizzard Falcon (Level 4 Water Winged-Beast ATK: 1500 DEFF: 1500) from my hand!" The heiress announced as her two monsters took flight.

Blizzard Falcon touched down in front of the heiress spreading her large crystalline wings outwards to shield her injured summoner and let loose a sharp screech towards the towering monarch just a few short feet away. While Blizzard Falcon took up defense against their adversaries, Aurora Wing swept in on Weiss nuzzling the heiress lightly before taking up a position beside her comrade.

"Terrifying, truly terrifying" Garret laughed as Weiss' two azure avians stared down their opponent with barely contained venom. Though they were both creatures of great beauty they were also defenders against the Grimm and the very presence of the armoured knight had set their instincts on high alert.

A small smile crossed Weiss' face at the businessman's words. _"So sure of yourself Garret, it's time to show you why I'm the Duelist and you're the boardroom lapdog!"_ Weiss' thoughts brought with it a rare sense of pleasure, one that her monsters seemed to share as they looked back at her and nodded in unison. "Alright Garret make sure you research this! Since Lemuria, the Forgotten City is on the field it increases my water monster's attack and defense by two hundred" Weiss announced with a wave of her hand.

"Now since Blizzard Falcon's attack is no longer equal to her original I can activate her effect to deal fifteen hundred points of damage to your life points!" Weiss declared as Blizzard Falcon let out a piercing cry. Flapping her deep blue crystalline wings the icy bird took to the air, flying over Mobius until it was directly over the armoured knight's head. "Go Blizzard Falcon use Icy Shard!" Weiss commanded and Blizzard Falcon obeyed opening her wings as wide as they would go. Ice crystals began to form along the wings of azure bird until, with a shrill cry, Blizzard Falcon flapped her wings together sending the collected shards of ice racing down where they pelted the knight mercilessly.

 **Weiss: 1400LP**

 **Armoured Knight: 2500LP**

Shrugging off the impromptu hailstorm as if it were nothing the armoured knight turned its crimson gaze up to Blizzard Falcon who screeched once more before flying back to her own side of the field where her summoner waited for her. "Good job" Weiss whispered kindly, running her hand over Blizzard Falcon's sub-zero body. Glaring back up at her opponents Weiss took a deep breath preparing for the next phase of her plan.

"Now I activate Lemuria, the Forgotten City's second effect! Once per turn I can increase the levels of all water monsters on my side of the field by the number of water monsters I control!" Weiss declared, watching as both Aurora Wing and Blizzard Falcon took to the air as an ethereal glow surrounded them. "This means that both my level four monsters are increased to level six and together we build the overlay network!"

At Weiss' command both Blizzard Flacon and Aurora Wing were converted into masses of bright pulsating blue energy that raced upwards into a waiting dark vortex. Up in the control room, Garret could only grit his teeth as the swirling vortex exploded in a blinding flash of light. "Heart of solitude and ice, shatter to reveal the defender of righteousness! I Xyz summon Number 21: Frozen Lady Justice!" (Rank 6 Water Aqua ATK: 500 DEF: 500) Weiss shouted as the intense light subsided to reveal a stunning woman clad in a tight dress with a short skirt. The dress itself was various shades of blue with a golden inlay. She wore shoulder length gloves and thigh high stockings of the purest white save for the trim which was dark blue and the golden twenty one imprinted on her left thigh.

Slowly descending to stand before Weiss, Number 21 bowed her head towards the heiress as she curtsied, showing off her hair that was as white as Weiss', though cut much shorter. Spinning around Number 21 withdrew a gleaming rapier from the scabbard on her hip, pointing it directly towards Mobius, or to be more specific, the armoured knight Mobius was standing in front of. The silence that followed was nothing short of menacing as the frozen woman glared down her new adversaries. However that silence was soon broken by the mirthless laughter of the silver haired slime ball in the booth above them.

"All of that for a monster with only five hundred attack? Ms. Schnee I'm afraid you're going to have to do a lot better than that" Garret chided, glaring down at the rapier wielding monster.

"Check again Garret, Number 21's attack is far higher than that" Weiss smirked as Number 21 readied her rapier, glaring unblinkingly at both Mobius and the armoured knight behind him. "You see Number 21: Frozen Lady Justice gains one thousand attack for every material attached to her and I count two. Plus when you take into consideration Lemuria, the Forgotten City that makes her attack a grand total of twenty-seven hundred, more than enough to take care of Mobius" the heiress announced much to the black suited businessman's chagrin.

"Now go Number 21: Frozen Lady Justice! Strike down Mobius the Frost Monarch with Sub-Zero Thrust!" Weiss commanded and Number 21 was quick to obey dashing forward and leaving a trail of frozen water in her wake. Just as Number 21 closed in on her foe, with rapier poised to strike, she was brought to a sudden stop by a blast of icy wind. Looking down at her own hands in shock Number 21 watched as cracks began to spread across her body marring her otherwise stunning features. Glancing up, the rapier wielder could see the same thing was happening to Mobius. In unison both Duel Monsters cried out in anguish as they shattered like glass forming hundreds of icy shards that raced directly towards Weiss.

So taken aback was Weiss by her favourite monster's sudden demise that she didn't raise her guard until it was too late. The storm of icy shards slammed into the ivory haired Duelist blowing her off her feet and back into the same marble column as before. As Weiss' Aura tried desperately to protect her from the onslaught she suddenly felt a searing pain rake through the left side of her face. Luckily just as soon as the icy barrage had begun it dissipated allowing Weiss to fall to the ground clutching her face in pain. Slowly moving her hand away from her face she saw that it was drenched in blood, her own blood.

Looking down into a reflective puddle resting on the marble floor Weiss' eyes widened in shock at the damage a single shard of ice had done. Where before her face was the picture of beauty and perfection it was now marred by a deep gash running down her left eye. If it had gone any deeper it could very well have blinded the ivory haired Duelist. A single drop of blood dripped into the reflective puddle staining it crimson causing Weiss to look up shakily to the armoured knight standing across from her, waiting for her to get up.

"How?" Weiss asked weakly as she slowly got to her feet, doing her best to ignore the damage to herself, despite the blood dripping into her eye.

"A simple little trap Ms. Schnee called Diamond Dust" Garret drawled nonchalantly. In response to the businessman's statement the armoured knight pointed down to its feet where a single purple card, revealing a torrent of icy snowflakes, now lay face up. "In case you didn't know, Diamond Dust destroys all water monsters on the field and then deals five hundred damage to you for each one" Garret chuckled as the armoured knight took a step towards Weiss. Looking down at Myrtenaster Weiss realised that Garret was right, both Mobius and Number 21 were gone and she was now one thousand life points less than when the attack began.

 **Weiss: 400LP**

 **Armoured Knight: 2500LP**

Looking at her hand Weiss felt her heart plummet, all she had left was Blizzard Thunderbird in her hand, but she wouldn't be able to assist Weiss until her next turn. True Garret had no monsters either but his turn was coming up next and with only four hundred life points left she severely doubted her chances of actually making it out of this duel the victor. "I end my turn…" Weiss muttered placing her hand against a column for support.

"Are you finally starting to see the fruitlessness in trying to defy your father Ms. Schnee?" Garret chided smugly. Seeing the Schnee heiress in such condition was nothing short of incredible and the success of his project only made things all the sweeter for the pompous businessman. When he received no answer from the ivory haired Duelist, save for a scathing glare, Garret shrugged his shoulders and turned to the technician to his right once more.

"Make sure to keep him on a leash, no attacking whatsoever I want her to quit of her own volition" Garret commanded.

"Really sir? We can end this right now" the lab technician said from his seat getting a nod of understanding from the silver haired businessman.

"Trust me, I know we can and I would be lying if I said I didn't want to crush her here and now but Jacque's explicit orders were to make her give up" Garret muttered, getting a nod back from the lab technician.

Back in the training room Weiss watched as the armoured knight drew a fresh card from its deck. "Well I think it's about time we wrap this up" Garret said as the armoured knight activated its last face down card. "I activate The First Monarch!" Upon the SDC's second in command's decree a dark cloud erupted from the now face up trap card, revealing a monstrously towering figure cloaked in shadow sitting upon an enormous thrown that almost stretched to the ceiling.

"What is that?!" Weiss demanded wide eyed, taking a step back from this newest arrival.

"This Ms. Schnee is The First Monarch, a trap that summons itself to the field in defense mode upon activation" Garret explained as the shadowy figure turned its head down to glare at Weiss. "I should also mention he has a fairly interesting effect. By discarding one card from our hand we can change his attribute to anything we want and he will then count as two tributes for the tribute summon of a monster with the same attribute." The armoured knight slid one of the cards from its hand into the grave and water suddenly began cascading down from The First Monarch's throne adding to the already flooded Forgotten City.

 **The First Monarch (Level 6 Water Fiend ATK: 1200 DEF: 2600)**

"As you may have guessed we have chosen water. Now we tribute The First Monarch to call forth Mobius the Mega Monarch!" (Level 8 Water Aqua ATK: 2800 DEF: 1000) At Garret's declaration The First Monarch, throne and all, was suddenly encased completely in ice before shattering to reveal a new monster that was just as enormous. Mobius' mega form towered over the battlefield clad in armour that was similar to his previous version however with far more ornamentation and spikes jutting out of the from the pauldrons on his shoulders, the greaves on his legs and gloves on his hands.

Looking up at the towering Monarch Weiss felt a bitter chill begin to creep up her spine. _"It's over, I've failed"_ the thought was nothing short of torture for the young Duelist who wanted nothing more than to experience the wonders of the world outside of Atlas.

"Mobius the Mega Monarch has an effect quite similar to his original form but instead of destroying two of your spells and traps he destroys three but since all you have left is your field spell I suppose that will have to do. Mobius take it away!" Upon his summoner's declaration the enhanced Mobius became shrouded in an intense blizzard that spread outward freezing the Forgotten City around them. The now frozen city began to crumble and shatter under its own weight sending Weiss falling to the ground. Luckily the ivory haired duelist still had enough strength left to cast a quick glyph underneath her to break her fall.

"I'll have to ask that you stay with me for just a bit longer Ms. Schnee, were not done here quite yet" Garret chuckled as the armoured knight and Mobius landed on the floor of the training grounds which had now returned to its previous state prior to Weiss' field spell. "I activate Pantheism of the Monarchs from my grave!" When Weiss looked at the armoured knight in confusion the silver haired businessman in the control booth couldn't help but chuckle. "See I discarded Pantheism of the Monarchs to activate The First Monarch. And if Pantheism of the Monarchs is in the graveyard I can banish it from the game and in exchange I choose three Monarch cards and show them to you, you then get to choose which one gets added to my hand" Garret explained as the armoured knight withdrew the three cards of their choosing before showing them to a weary Weiss.

"But… Those are all-"

"Correct you get to choose between March of the Monarchs, March of the Monarchs and yes you guessed it March of the Monarchs!" Garret laughed at the position he had now placed the heiress in.

"How is that fair? You're not even giving me a choice!" Weiss growled. She couldn't figure out who to glare at the man in the booth or the monstrous puppet he was controlling.

"I hate to be the bearer of bad news Ms. Schnee but sometimes life doesn't give you a choice, I guess just to help speed things along we'll just take one and shuffle the rest into the deck" the armoured knight obeyed its puppeteer's commands and took one of the revealed cards while the rest were shuffled into the deck. All the while Weiss could only look on as the armoured knight fortified its field.

 _"Sometimes life doesn't give me a choice… maybe he's right…"_ Weiss thought bitterly. Looking up the Schnee heiress could tell that Garret was speaking again but she couldn't be bothered to listen to the arrogant blowhard. She knew that March of the Monarchs protected tribute summoned monsters from destruction and targeting effects, so she didn't need to hear his explanation as the armoured knight activated the continuous spell card.

 _"I can't destroy Mobius with card effects and none of my monsters are strong enough to go toe to toe with him without support."_ Despite the protests she could feel emanating from her deck, Weiss' melancholic thoughts only grew more and more prominent. _"He said he did his research and he was right, he played this match perfectly and beat me at every turn, not even Number 21 lasted a turn against him"_ Weiss could feel her destroyed Xyz monster reaching out to her from the grave, hoping to soothe her master.

"I think it's time you gave up on this pipe dream of studying at Beacon Ms. Schnee" Garret said from beside the armoured knight. At some point during Weiss' self-reflection the businessman had come down from the control room and now stood smugly beside his pet project. "Simply give up and we can move on, I think you've wasted enough of our time for one day" Garret said while readjusting his glasses. "We end our turn, now save yourself some dignity and surrender, this match is over."

"I…" Weiss muttered uncertainty filling her eyes. Logic would state she give up, her chances of pulling out a win were miniscule at best and in her weakened state she doubted her Aura could take a full blast from Garret's Mega Monarch. Glancing down at her feet in dejection Weiss began to raise her hand to place it over Myrtenaster, signifying her surrender, when the locket around her neck caught her attention. Grabbing the apple shaped, silver locket Weiss opened it revealing a picture of her and Winter embracing each other with genuine smiles on their faces. It had been taken by their mother, during happier days and the longer she stared at it the more intensely a fire burned within her.

"No!" Weiss shouted surprising both Garret and his pet knight with her outburst. Looking up with fire in her eyes and a renewed passion Weiss placed her fingers atop her deck willing it to provide her the one card she needed to win this duel and her freedom. "Winter would never back down, she would never give up, so neither will I!" Weiss shouted as an ethereal white glow spread over her body and a rapidly spinning glyph materialized beneath her feet. "I draw!" Weiss exclaimed drawing the top card from her deck and feeling it pulse in her hands, as always her deck had come through for her.

"First I activate Galaxy Cyclone from my grave, which I sent on my previous turn to activate Blizzard Thunderbird's effect" Weiss exclaimed as a crackling vortex appeared above the heads of those in the training room. "By banishing Galaxy Cyclone from my grave I can target and destroy one face up spell or trap on the field and I choose to destroy March of the Monarchs!" At the ivory haired duelist's command the crackling vortex unleashed a blistering cyclone that swept away the continuous spell destroying it and leaving Mobius vulnerable for what would come next.

"Now I enter the battle phase!" Weiss announced much to Garret's confusion.

"Oh really and what do you expect to attack with Ms. Schnee? You have no monsters" Garret chuckled not noticing the growing smirk on the heiress' face.

"I don't need a monster Garret, not when I have this" Weiss smirked as she flicked a spell down onto her spell and trap card glyph. "I activate the quick play spell Rebellion!" Weiss announced as the spell took effect enshrouding Mobius the Mega Monarch in a red fog.

"How did you get that card?!" Garret yelled in disbelief as Mobius began to walk forward, towards Weiss with a glazed over look in his eyes.

"I suppose your research wasn't as thorough as you thought it was?" Weiss smirk grew even wider as Mobius came to a halt in front of her staring straight down at the heiress until it slowly turned around to face its owner. "I can only activate this card during the battle phase but Rebellion allows me to take control of one of your monsters until the battle phase is over" Weiss felt an exhilarated rush as a whirling torrent of snow and ice began to enshroud Mobius. "Now go Mobius the Mega Monarch destroy that monstrosity with Destruction Blizzard!" Weiss decreed watching as Mobius turned on its summoner unleashing a hellish blizzard that consumed the armoured knight, who cried out in frigid agony.

As the torrent of snow and ice subsided it revealed what was left of the armoured knight. The hulking monstrosity had been encased in solid ice sealing it from head to toe and Weiss watched with grim satisfaction as cracks began to form in the structure.

"No, this can't be! I had it all planned to perfection!" Garret cried as his knight's arm broke off from its body before shattering like glass on the floor. Then the other arm followed, and then a leg and before either Weiss or Garret could realise it the armoured knight fully collapsed to the floor shattering completely and dissolving into the air.

 **Weiss: 400LP**

 **Armoured Knight: 0LP**

 **Winner: Weiss Schnee**

As the last wafts of black smoke disappeared the towering figure of Mobius broke down dissolving into blue energy and reforming into a card that gently floated down for Weiss to catch. Looking down at the Monarch in card form brought a smile to the heiress' face before she looked back up to face the silver haired businessman who was in a state of utter disbelief.

"Tell my father that I've passed your inane test, I will be leaving for Beacon next week. I'll let you explain how you failed the one job he gave you" Weiss scoffed as she turned on her heel leaving the stricken businessman behind her.

As she walked towards the exit she felt a frigid burst of cold air rush by her from behind. Looking back to see what had caused the chilling breeze, Weiss' eyes widened in surprise as two cards floated down in front of her. Plucking the cards out the air she was even more surprised to see what they were. "Mobius the Frost Monarch and Escher the Frost Vassal" Weiss whispered, placing the two new arrivals alongside their mega counterpart.

Walking through the doors of the training room Weiss was greeted on the other side by a surprised and very worried looking Klein. "My word, Ms. Schnee are you alright?!" the family butler asked shocked by the young Duelist's injured appearance.

"I've never felt better Klein" Weiss replied with a heartwarming smile that Klein was more than overjoyed to see. "However I believe I'll need to get this mess cleaned up before the concert tonight" Weiss pointed at the bloody wound over her left eye and her blood stained combat skirt.

"It would be my pleasure Ms. Schnee" Klein replied with a small bow following the Schnee heiress as she walked down the empty halls of the Schnee manor with head held high. She had entered that room consumed by uncertainty and self-doubt but now she was walking away dauntlessly, freed from her shackles. All seven of Klein Sieben's different personas couldn't be more proud of their Little Snowflake.

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** **Hello everyone and we're back with chapter two and a full duel this time though admittedly from a technical standpoint it was somewhat short, only five turns. However in this case there was a lot of story going on in between the game that needed to be conveyed.**

 **So obviously this is my interpretation of the White Trailer with a few obvious changes here and there. The main one, apart from you know… card games, is Garret Argentite. Now in a way he is an OC but at the same time he's not as he's heavily based on the man overseeing Weiss' fight with the Grimm in the RWBY Manga, they just never really give us a name to work with. As for the knight itself I redesigned him to resemble a corrupted version of Royal Knight of the Ice Barrier which gives you an idea of how the Grimm will be like in this story. The Grimm are still prevalent but instead of what we're use to with Deathstalkers, Nevermores and Beowolves I'll instead be using corrupted versions of Duel Monsters. The small subplot of controlling the Grimm is an avenue that I plan on exploring later.**

 **As for the Duel itself I really wanted to make it as Yu-Gi-Oh as possible with what with a cocky adversary who believes everything is going according to plan, believing in your deck and of course a major heart of the cards moment with Weiss drawing Rebellion. I even have Weiss' necklace showing a picture of her and Winter (Not Whitley because well… to hell with him) like Kaiba does in the original anime. This was actually the first duel I wrote when I began prepping this story.**

 **As for Weiss' deck itself, much like Ruby she has a very obvious motif with ice based monsters and cards that are rather graceful. But she also has cards that are quite symbolic of her character Rebellion really needs no explanation, Eisbahn just seems so fitting for her and Number 21: Frozen Lady Justice is well… It's Weiss in Duel Monster's form. First time I saw the card that was the immediate comparison I got from it, so if you can check it out and you'll see what I mean. Also as a nod to the Schnee ability to summon she's now added the Frost Monarchs to her deck as she did with the armoured knight in the actual show.**

 **This was a lot of fun as Weiss is one of my favourite characters from the show and I can't wait to write more for her. Next chapter will be the Black Trailer where we get to see Blake and everyone's… favourite? Edgelord Adam go up against… well I'll just have to leave you guessing on how that will go.**

 **Until next time everyone take it easy!**


	3. Chapter 3 Blake Belladonna

**Chapter 3: Blake Belladonna**

Forever Fall, one of the most strikingly beautiful locations in all of Remnant. Stretching for miles along the northern coast of the kingdom of Vale it was one of, if not the largest forests on the continent of Saunus. With stunning trees covered in crimson foliage that were never bare even in the harshest winter, Forever Fall's splendour captured the eyes of all those that walked through its otherworldly beauty. All save for a lone, young woman.

Sitting upon a rock and looking down at her hands sat a beautiful young woman with fair skin and long black hair that stretched all the way down to the small of her back. Resting against the rock beside the young woman was a broad bladed sword that resembled a cleaver more than a typical blade, with nicks and scratches along the surface it was clear the weapon had seen plenty of action in the past. Along the girl's left wrist sat the body of a duel disk, coloured black with lines of white running along the frame the device had a somewhat rectangular appearance to it. Despite the weaponry and the dueling equipment, the woman's most notable feature was a single black bow affixed to the top of her head.

Ignoring the stunning beauty of her surroundings the raven haired girl's gaze was fixed upon her hands. In her left hand sat a full faced, ivory mask with four diagonal slits for eye holes. While in the woman's right hand sat a deck of Duel Monster's cards emblazoned with her emblem of the flower, nightshade. Despite the foreboding look of the mask it was the innocuous deck of cards that seemed to have captivated the raven haired woman's attention.

 _"It still doesn't feel right."_

It was a thought that had plagued her mind on more than one occasion since she had adopted the deck over two weeks ago. It wasn't that the cards wouldn't respond to her, though there had been some initial issues between them and her Aura. Those issues had been quickly smoothed out and now she was faced with a new problem. She had mastered this new deck in record time, and yet a feeling of disquiet lingered between herself and the cards, not enough to affect her abilities but just enough to eat away at the back of her mind. Simply put, the deck and its new Duelist didn't mesh well together, even if both of them desperately wanted to.

"Blake, it's time."

The smooth masculine voice from behind her was the only thing that could have torn Blake Belladonna's attention away from the deck of cards. Looking back, Blake's rich amber eyes locked on her partner now standing behind her. Clad in a black trench coat with red and white symbols along the left shoulder and a red shirt underneath, Adam Taurus came to a halt facing his amber eyed beauty. Adam wore a mask similar to Blake's however his only covered the upper half of his face and was adorned with red markings. Moving towards Blake slowly his red and dark brown hair was swept back by a strong breeze revealing the pair of horns atop his head.

Sliding her own bone white mask over her face, effectively concealing her identity from the world, Blake let out a small, barely audible sigh before looking back to Adam. "Ok" her voice now muffled by the mask. Slowly Blake stood up from the rock and slid her deck into the body of her duel disk before picking up the blade at her side and affixing it to the magnetic plate resting on her back. There wasn't anything else that needed to be said they both knew the mission, the risks and that train wasn't about to be late.

Racing together side by side through the crimson underbrush, they made it to the cliffs overlooking the expansive valley where their quarry would be arriving any moment now. Blake could already hear the telltale whistle of the train as it sped along the track towards them. Looking over to his partner, Adam gave her one quick nod before leaping from the cliffs. The train was already on approach, if they wanted to make it aboard it was now or never.

Just as Adam leapt from the cliffs, Blake immediately followed suit, both now sliding down the forty-five degree hill at a blistering pace. Glancing up Blake could see the train now passing underneath. Just as the intel informed, it was a boxy cargo carrier with the white snowflake of the Schnee Dust Company emblazoned on the side. Coming to the end of the steep cliff, both Adam and Blake leapt into the air in unison. Adam touched down on the train first, drawing his crimson sword, Wilt, in mid-air and driving the blade into the roof of the train to slow his entry. Just to his left Blake landed deftly beside him making nary a sound over the roar of the train.

Dashing across the top of the train as quickly as they could, both Blake and Adam came to a halt at the first hatch they found. "After you" Adam said, cracking open the service hatch that would lead them both into the interior of the train. Blake was somewhat glad that she had the mask on otherwise she would have had to suppress the overwhelming desire to roll her eyes at the cheesy comment.

Dropping deftly into the darkened train car all of Blake's senses were on high alert, Jacques Schnee never left an investment unguarded. As Adam touched down beside her Blake began to pick up on the low whine of machinery whirling to life. "Looks like we're going to be doing this the hard way" Adam grunted as all around the pair, the train's mechanical security whirled to life.

"Don't be so dramatic" Blake sighed, taking note of the robotic guards that began to surround them on all sides. Atlesian Knights and Soldiers, supposedly based off of a variation of Duel Monsters, had been the go to robotic defenders churned out from the Atlesian military's R&D division. They all shared the same dull grey, armoured chassis with exposed gears and clockwork jutting out of their shoulders. The Soldier variants were all armed with machine guns with a rotating chamber while their larger Knight counterparts brandished intimidating lances paired with a heavy gear-like shield. Despite the heavy weaponry on display it was the robots' faces that always unnerved Blake. Underneath a standard military helmet were rows of horizontal gears made to imitate a mouth and a single piercing red eye that seemed to bore into the machine's target with cold malice.

"Intruders, identify yourselves" echoed the cold, monotonous voice from one of the Soldiers as it leveled its gun-arm on the pair. The chilling voice had the hair on the back of Blake's neck standing on end as the other robotic guards encircled them. Passing a quick glance over to Adam she watched carefully as he slowly straightened up to face the lead robot.

 _"He's not reaching for his duel disk… guess he really is set on doing this the hard way…"_ Blake's thoughts were interrupted with a resounding bang as Adam ejected Wilt from his sheath, sending the crimson blade hilt first into the Soldier that had demanded their identification. Dashing forward Adam snatched his sword from the air before it even began its decent. With one effortless sweep of his blade he slashed through the hardened steel column of the Soldier's neck before blasting its head away with Blush's rifle augmentation and then followed it with a near perfect diagonal cut from shoulder to hip, bifurcating the instrument of war in less than a second.

The other assembled Knights and Soldiers seemed to be caught in stunned disbelief, if that was possible for a robot, at the sudden dispatching of one of their comrades. Passing quick glances at each other a group of Knights charged forward towards Blake who could pick out their heavy footfalls from a mile away. Reaching for the broad blade fixed to her back, Blake leapt back just as the points of the lances skewered her shadow clone she left in her place. Spinning around, Blake effortlessly cut two of the Knights at the waist sending their torso's tumbling to the ground with a loud clatter.

Readying her cleaver-like sword Blake rushed over to Adam's side who had already engaged another group of Knights. The Atlesian security seemed to realise that close quarters combat would not end in their favour so it seemed as though they were attempting to pin the sword wielding duo long enough for the Soldiers to open fire on them.

That was easier said than done though as both Blake and Adam mercilessly cut through the mechanical group in a few short seconds. Ducking low Blake slashed a Knight at the knees sending the upper portion of its body tumbling to the ground just as a row of Soldiers locked on to the intruders. Glancing up in surprise Blake could see the rotating chambers of the assembled robots begin to spin. Ducking and moving back she watched as Adam moved in front of her, Wilt at the ready, and began swatting away the stream of bullets that now streaked their way.

As Adam deflected the incoming projectiles Blake could feel a familiar force calling out to her. Sparing her left arm a quick glance she could feel the thrum of energy emanating from her deck nestled in her duel disk. Her Duel Monsters could see they were outnumbered, they wanted to help but Blake still felt a rush of uncertainty towards this new deck. Trying to call forth new monsters in the middle of an active fight could prove disastrous and Adam needed someone to watch his back, even if it was just to keep him in check.

Spotting an opening in the firing squad's latest attack and ignoring the call of the deck on her wrist, Blake dashed ahead keeping low to the ground with her blade at the ready. Leaping into the air at the last second to avoid being skewered on more of the Knights' lances she brought the blade of her sword down cleaving the heads from three of Soldier's just as Adam rushed to her side dispatching the remaining robotic combatants with a series of precise and brutal slashes.

Sheathing Wilt back into Blush, Adam gave a quick nod to Blake as they made their way to the next train car, having to step over the sparking remains of several Soldiers and Knights in the process. Quickly entering the next car the pair glanced around cautiously, their senses on high alert. When it seemed like this train car was devoid of any security whatsoever Blake let out a small sigh from behind her mask as she fixed her blade back into its position on her back.

Moving forward towards their main target Blake once again felt the surge of energy from her deck. Perhaps it was the stressful situation they were in, perhaps it was the growing anxiety of what she knew would transpire after this mission was over but she couldn't tell what her deck was trying to tell her. Her Duel Monsters wanted her to unleash them, allow them to serve her and fight by her side, that much was certain but there was more, something else they were trying to tell her… perhaps a warning?

She was drawn from her reverie by the sound of metal slicing through metal as Adam cut the locks off a nearby crate. Moving over to his side Blake peaked into the box to see what was inside. _"Dust, a lot of it, I guess the reports were right then…"_ Blake thought to herself, her eyes fixated on the assortment of crystals nestled safely in the container. The pulsing energy from her deck was now reaching an almost painful degree as their presence hammered away at her mind. _"What do you want from me?!"_ Blake nearly shouted the words out loud but managed to hold her tongue.

"Move up to the next car, I'll set the charges" Adam commanded as he closed the lid on the dust shipment.

Blake visibly stiffened at her partner's words, her head slowly turning to face him, the pain from her deck momentarily forgotten. _"Charges? Charges! This wasn't part of the plan!"_ Blake nearly cried out but once more stopped herself. After all, this was just another instance in the laundry list of events that had transpired over recent years that had driven the young woman to make her coming decision. Looking into the masked face of her partner through the slits of her own, Blake attempted to keep her voice level, trying and failing to keep the worry out of her voice. "What about the crewmembers?" She asked already knowing the answer before it even left his lips.

"What about them?" Adam replied nonchalantly, leveling his own masked gaze on his raven haired partner.

 _*Clink*_

 _*Clink*_

 _*Clink*_

Looking down at their feet in surprise both train raiders' eyes widened in shock as a small device with a large gear rolled towards them. "Move!" Adam barked, dashing alongside Blake away from the explosive. Leaping forward Adam slammed his foot into the door of the train car knocking it loose and allowing the pair to escape onto an open platform. Just moments after leaping through the entryway, both Blake and Adam were thrown forward by a massive explosion as the train car behind them erupted into an enormous fireball fueled by the Dust inside.

Wiping her hair from her face as the powerful winds whipped around her, Blake slowly got to her feet to look back at the train car they had been in mere moments before. The upper portion had been completely obliterated by the blast with only the base of the car holding the two halves of the train together.

Through the raging fires Blake could just make out a large shadow approaching quickly, the sound of its approach blocked out by the deafening winds around them. Without warning the shadow leapt forward through the flames and over the pair's heads, landing on the far side of the platform they were standing on. Turning around quickly with weapons at the ready, the pair of train robbers' eyes narrowed as an enormous machine in the shape of a saber tooth tiger turned to face them. The new arrival seemed to be designed in the same fashion as the Soldiers and Knights they had fought earlier. With the same dull metal plating and exposed gears there was little doubt that this Beast belonged to the same group as the previous robots.

"Easy girl give me a second to get off" a gruff voice echoed from the across the platform. Glancing up for the first time Blake's eyes fell on the man riding atop the armoured Beast. With a receding hairline that was well past the point of greying it was clear he was in his late fifties at the least. Though he gave off an air of power it was offset by the way he lovingly patted the head of the robotic feline at his side.

Brushing off some of the ash and soot that clung to his grey Schnee Security uniform the older man looked over to the two sword wielders with a wary eye. "'fraid I can't let you go any farther than this you two" he called out to Blake and Adam drawing his left sleeve back to reveal a duel disk in the shape of a gear on his forearm.

"This is the best Schnee can come up with, some over the hill Duelist? What a joke" Adam grunted, beginning to move towards the older man with a sneer plastered on his face. "Listen up old man we have business to take care of so why don't you do us both a favour and hop off this train before things get messy" Adam called out to the man now only a few feet away.

The robotic feline at the man's side let loose a fierce roar in response to Adam's snide remark that caught Blake by surprise. Blake's eyes narrowed at the ferocity of the roar and quickly realised that, unlike the robots they had fought before, this one was actually a real Duel Monster.

"Easy girl, I got this" the older man soothed running his hand along the metal ears of the Beast at his side. "As for you" the man took a step forward his duel disk whirling into position in front of him. "You're not getting by me and someone's gotta teach you some manners, so how about you pull out your deck" the older man grinned as the Beast at his side collapsed into dull grey energy that raced into his deck.

"Fine, we take care of you then we wrap up this mission" Adam grunted drawing Wilt once more from Blush but this time inserting the blade into the side of his black duel disk. Once the blade was inserted into the device it detached from the hilt with a small click allowing Adam to reattach it to Blush, then with a small smirk his duel disk activated using the blade of Wilt as medium to generate a hard light surface for his cards.

Moving up alongside her partner, Blake removed the blade from her back and attached it to her own duel disk with an audible _snap_. Unlike Wilt Blake's duel disk, Gambol Shroud, didn't use hard light and merely used the body of the blade as her dueling surface with slots along the inside of the device for her spells and traps.

"What's your name?" Blake asked the man across from them, her voice still somewhat muffled by her mask.

Looking at the raven haired woman, the older man gave her a curious look before letting out a small chuckle. "I can only guess you two aren't about to tell me your names so I really shouldn't bother telling you mine… but ah what the hell, name's Ash, wish we could have met under better circumstances" the grey haired man grinned as his own duel disk lit up.

 _"You can say that again"_ Blake thought as Adam drew five cards from the top of his deck with a disgruntled growl. Since this was a two on one duel and Adam never chose to share fields with her it meant that both Adam and Blake would be reduced to four thousand life points. In contrast Ash would get the full, standard eight thousand giving him a major advantage if he was able to knock one of them out early. _"Need to play this safe, especially with the new deck…"_ Blake thought gloomily as she withdrew the top five cards from her own deck just as Ash did the same from across the train car as it sped along the tracks.

"I'll go first" Adam stated, taking a step forward only to be halted by a wave from Ash.

"How about we let ladies go first" Ash chuckled, giving a quick nod in Blake's direction. Surprised by the unexpected show of kindness Blake nodded in acceptance as she stepped up beside Adam whose lips twitched ever so subtly in annoyance.

"Ready? Duel!" The trio exclaimed in unison as the familiar field of their combined Aura's surrounded them.

 **Adam Taurus: 4000LP**

 **Blake Belladonna: 4000LP**

 **Ash Grey: 8000LP**

Glancing down at the cards in her hand, a brief moment of panic swept over Blake as she gazed at the unfamiliar cards. Taking a deep breath she quickly began putting her plan into motion. _"They're just different than what you're used to, you can win with them either way"_ Blake thought as she summoned her first monster. "I'll start by summoning XX-Saber Emmersblade (Level 3 Earth Insect ATK: 1300 DEF: 800) in attack mode!" Blake called out as a green X appeared in front of her. Leaping from the verdant mark XX-Saber Emmersblade touched down letting out a series of clicks from its mandibles. The armoured, green insectoid creature lifted its twin blades into an X formation as its billowing red cape flapped in the wind.

"What the hell are you doing using that deck?" Adam barked, the scowl on his face immediately reasserting Blake's own uncertainties.

 _"Maybe he's right, what am I doing with this deck? It still doesn't feel right…_ "

"Hey how about you let the lady play the way she wants to, pal" Ash shouted out over the rushing wind grabbing Blake's attention. Looking at the man with the receding hairline in surprise, Blake was even more surprised when he gave her an encouraging nod.

"I-I set three cards face-down and end my turn" Blake stuttered uncertainly as she placed three cards facedown into her spell and trap card zone, where they promptly appeared in between herself and Emmersblade.

"Then I'll take over from here" Adam growled as he readied his duel disk. "I begin by activating the spell Six Samurai United!" Adam declared, placing the card down with a flick of his wrist a circular glyph emerged behind him. The glyph was pale blue and had interconnecting lines running throughout the circle that all led to two smaller circles in the center. "For every Six Samurai monster I summon I can place a bushido counter on Six Samurai United then when there are two I can send it to the grave to draw two new cards" Adam explained the impatience in his voice clear enough for Blake to pick up on.

"I'll follow that by summoning Chamberlain of the Six Samurai (Level 3 Earth Warrior ATK: 200 DEF: 2000) to the field in defense" Adam declared flicking a new monster onto the hard light surface of his duel disk. From above the dueling trio a single weathered katana fell from the sky embedding itself into the surface of the train. The area surrounding the sword began to glow brightly as the same glyph that formed from Six Samurai United took shape around the sword and an elderly man appeared in a flash of light. His arms and legs had been replaced with robotics as well as half his face which was cast in a disgruntled scowl nearly mirroring the one on his summoner's face.

"By summoning my Chamberlain that places one bushido counter on Six Samurai United and lastly I'll set a single card face-down and end my turn" Adam stated as he casually flicked a face-down card into his spell and trap zone.

"Not a bad start you two, guess I'm up" Ash chuckled, his apparent excitement for the duel surprising Blake. "First off I draw" Ash grinned as he brought the cards in his hand from five to six. "Now I'll start by activating Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy one of your face-downs!" Ash declared pointing at the middle card Blake had set on the first turn. Clouds quickly formed over the heads of the three Duelists before a blistering tornado raced down from above towards the Blake's side of the field.

"Then I'll just have to activate that card" Blake shouted over the roar of the approaching typhoon. "I activate Half Unbreak and use it to target Chamberlain of the Six Samurai!" The middle card flipped face up revealing a stout knight taking refuge behind a large shield and an intense light shot out from the trap card just before the approaching typhoon swept it away. The beam of light surrounded Chamberlain of the Six Samurai forming a protective bubble around the elderly warrior who nodded his head towards Blake in appreciation. "For the rest of this turn Chamberlain can't be destroyed by battle and any damage dealt in battles involving him are halved" Blake explained as the winds from Mystical Space Typhoon died down.

"Using your card to protect your partner even though his monster's already stronger, pretty selfless of you" Ash grinned at the raven haired duelist across from him. "Well guess I'll have no choice but to go after you then" the older man sighed. "I activate Ancient Gear Castle" Ash stated and a large stone structure began forming on the open train car behind him. The towering structure was adorned with a series of battlements and weaponry that cast a shadow over the trio of Duelists.

"As long as Ancient Gear Castle's on the field all Ancient Gear monsters gain three hundred attack and defense points. Plus as an added bonus, each time a monster is normal summoned or set I place a gear counter on my castle, which we'll get into later" Ash smirked at the annoyed twitch in Adam's lips. "Then I'll set a card facedown and summon Ancient Gear Soldier (Level 4 Earth Machine ATK: 1300 DEF: 1300) to the field in attack mode!" Upon Ash's declaration the gates behind him opened wide to reveal his monster which seemed to be an exact replica of the robots Blake and Adam had fought earlier. The only real difference Blake could see between the real Duel Monster and the robotic counterparts was that the eye of Ash's monster was a calming blue rather than harsh red.

"Since I summoned a monster Ancient Gear Castle gains a gear counter" Ash stated as a large metal gear jutted out of the side of the imposing castle. "Plus my Soldier gains three hundred attack as long as the Castle's on the field" the greying Duelist continued, looking on with satisfaction as his monster readied for the coming battle.

 **Ancient Gear Soldier's ATK: 1600**

"Now Ancient Gear Soldier, let's get to work, attack XX-Saber Emmersblade!" Ash commanded, pointing towards Blake's insectoid creature.

"I don't think so, I activate… wait what?" Blake exclaimed in shock as her traps refused to activate as Ash's Soldier unleashed a barrage of cannon fire that riddled Emmersblade causing the insectoid warrior to explode violently from the attack.

"When one of my Ancient Gear monsters declare an attack it locks my opponents out from activating spells or traps in response" Ash explained to the confused woman who grit her teeth in frustration as she glanced at her duel disk watching her life points take their first hit. As bad as the loss of life points was it was the heavy smack to Blake's Aura that truly had her reeling. Because of the disconnect between Blake and her new X-Sabers it took far more Aura than usual to call them out and so when one of them was lost it took an even heavier toll on the raven haired Duelist.

 **Blake Belladonna: 3700LP**

"You might have locked me out of my spells and traps but not my monster effects" Blake growled as the remains of XX-Saber Emmersblade came together forming the shape of an X and allowing a new monster to appear. "When XX-Saber Emmersblade is destroyed by battle I can summon a new X-Saber monster to take his place so I call out X-Saber Pashuul (Level 2 Earth Warrior Tuner ATK: 100 DEF: 0) in attack mode!" Upon Blake's decree a warrior clad in weathered armour leapt from the glowing X touching down with a thud and planting his sword down into the train for support.

"Clever way around my Soldier's ability" Ash complimented giving a quick nod to Blake's newest summon.

 _"What's with this guy? We're his enemies and he's being so… cavalier about this whole situation."_ Blake didn't have long to think about this however as Ash placed a single card face-down and signaled the end of his turn with another nod towards his adversaries.

"You're up" Ash stated with another smile that vanished as he glanced over towards Adam.

"Alright I draw" Blake replied drawing the top card from her deck. Passing a quick glance over to Ash's side of the field, Blake couldn't help but frown under her mask. _"His monsters lock us out of using spells and traps during battle but not himself so that face-down could be anything. Then there's the castle to deal with as well, it's got to go and I have just the monster for the job"_ the raven haired Duelist thought confidently as she called forth her next monster.

"I normal summon X-Saber Galahad (Level 4 Earth Warrior ATK: 1800 DEF: 800) in attack mode!" Blake declared watching as a familiar X formed in front of her. This time from the glowing symbol leapt a chameleon-like creature in bronzed armour that took up position beside Pashuul. Leveling its bulbous eyes on Ash's mechanical Soldier, Galahad let out a croak before bringing the spear on its back to bear against Blake's opponent.

"Interesting monster, but since you normal summoned him that places another gear counter on my Ancient Gear Castle" Ash chuckled while above him yet another large gear emerged from the side of the towering structure.

"That doesn't matter, it won't be around much longer" Blake replied, her voice still muffled by her full faced mask. "Using X-Saber Pashuul and X-Saber Galahad I sync-" Blake's announcement was cut off as Adam's head whipped around to face her. Even though it was hidden behind his own mask Blake could feel Adam's hardened gaze boring into her. Lowering her arm Blake understood what that look meant better than anyone.

 _"Don't get in my way, I'll take care of it myself."_

"So you were going to synchro summon?" Ash asked staring wearily at Blake's partner. Adam's snap reaction and subsequent stare down were not missed by the middle aged Duelist across from him. Ash had been around a long time and what he was seeing wasn't anything new, still a part of him felt some remorse for the young woman he now had to fend off.

"On second thought I'll change X-Saber Pashuul to defense mode" Blake stated turning the weathered warrior's card horizontal. As she did, Pashuul himself dropped to one knee, planting his sword in front of him to shield from a coming attack and gave his summoner a quick nod of acknowledgment. Blake's eyes widened at the small gesture from her monster, it was clear that, like herself, they wanted to work together despite the clear disharmony between her and the cards. _"Well if they're going to put in the effort then I'll have to work even harder to make this work"_ Blake thought, passing a glance at Galahad who shared a similar nod before twirling his spear in the air to signal his readiness.

"X-Saber Galahad attack Ancient Gear Soldier!" Blake commanded and her reptilian warrior leapt forward with surprising speed. As the chameleon warrior closed in for its attack Ash's Soldier brought its own weapon to bear, unleashing a stream of automatic fire. However the incoming bullets were intercepted with precision swings of Galahad's spear. "When X-Saber Galahad attacks his effect activates raising his attack power by five hundred" Blake stated calmly as the last of Ancient Gear Soldier's bullets were swept aside. Pulling his arm back Galahad's armour began to unleash a blinding orange glow as it ducked under a broad swing from Ancient Gear Soldier's mechanical fist, who proved no match for the more powerful warrior.

 **X-Saber Galahad's ATK: 2300**

Thrusting his bronze spear forward, Galahad effortlessly pierced through Ancient Gear Soldier's chest piece sending gears and clockwork clattering to the deck of the train. Pulling up, the spear wielding chameleon carved the head in twain before leaping back as the robotic soldier exploded sending pieces of scrap metal flying in all directions. Directly behind the exploding robot, Ash had his arms raised to protect himself from the flying debris. Passing a quick glance at his duel disk the man frowned at his descending life points.

 **Ash Grey: 7300LP**

"Not bad but you can't keep a good soldier down, I activate Ancient Gear Reborn!" Ash declared as his face-down card flipped up, revealing a continuous trap. "Once per turn as long as I control no other monsters I can special summon an Ancient Gear monster from my grave" Ash explained as the scattered remains of Ancient Gear Soldier began to reassemble themselves and in mere moments Blake and Adam were once more faced with the robotic soldier. "Also as an added bonus, any Ancient Gear monster revived with this effect gains an additional two hundred attack point boost."

 **Ancient Gear Soldier's ATK: 1800**

"Tch you're gonna need more than that old man" Adam growled drawing a card from his deck. "I activate my own face-down Swift Strike Armor! Whenever I draw a Six Samurai monster during my draw phase I can immediately special summon it to my field" Adam stated as his trap took effect revealing a set of electrified armour that arced towards the card in Adam's hand. "Since I drew The Six Samurai – Nisashi (Level 4 Wind Warrior ATK: 1400 DEF: 700) I can summon him to the field in attack mode." No sooner had Adam's words left his mouth than a green armour clad swordsman appeared from another shining glyph in front of him. Leveling his glowing green sword towards Ash, Nisashi sneered while just behind him the glyph generated from Six Samurai United acquired its final bushido counter.

"Since Six Samurai United now has two bushido counters on it I can send it to the grave to draw two new cards from my deck" Adam explained, slipping the now used spell card into his grave and drawing two new cards to replace it, bringing his hand from two to four.

Glancing over to her partner, Blake felt a familiar well of dread beginning to form in the pit of her gut. She could see how tightly Adam's jaw was clenched and the way his hand kept drifting down slowly to Blush at his waist. _"Don't do it…"_ Blake thought nervously.

"Since I control a Six Samurai monster I can special summon Legendary Six Samurai - Kizan (Level 4 Earth Warrior ATK: 1800 DEF: 500) to the field in attack mode!" Adam declared, savagely slamming his card onto Wilt's hard light projection. Blake let out a relieved sigh as Adam's ebony armour clad warrior took to the field, his silver sword glinting in the sunlight. Unlike Nisashi before him, Kizan wasn't sneering at his opponent, instead he took up position beside his brethren giving a small bow to both Ash and then to Blake who smiled beneath her mask, Kizan had always been a gentleman. "While I control two or more other Six Samurai monsters, Kizan gains an additional three hundred attack points, not that he needs them to deal with you" Adam stated in a menacing tone.

 **Legendary Six Samurai - Kizan's ATK: 2100**

"Now using X-Saber Pashuul and Chamberlain of the Six Samurai I synchro summon!" Adam declared garnering a surprised look from Ash and an outraged one from Blake. They were on a team so both their fields were technically accessible to each other but Adam hadn't even asked her or given her any warning. By the time Blake finally found her voice to protest it was too late as both Pashuul and Adam's Chamberlain combined in a blinding flash of light. "Noble warrior of legend, come forth and vanquish my foes! I synchro summon Legendary Six Samurai – Shi En (Level 5 Dark Warrior ATK: 2500 DEF: 1400) to the field!" Adam shouted as his ace monster emerged from a spinning Six Samurai glyph.

Touching down beside Nisahi and Kizan, both of whom bowed towards their superior as he took to the field, the towering form of Shi En cast a warry gaze over the train car. His crimson armour sparkled immaculately in the sunlight and the threatening sword at his hip creaked as the intimidating warrior rested his hand along the hilt. Over on the other side of the train car Ash and his Ancient Gear Soldier held their ground but they could feel the power flowing from this new arrival, he was not one to be taken lightly.

"Shi En, wipe this filth from the train" Adam sneered waving his hand dismissively towards Ash and his robotic companion. Disappearing in the blink of an eye, Shi En reappeared a fraction of a moment later behind Ancient Gear Soldier, blade fully extended and shining like polished silver. With a quick flurry Shi En sheathed his blade with an audible snap. The crimson clad warrior gave the startled Ash a quick nod as he turned around and began walking away back towards his summoner, he hadn't even made it halfway across the train car when Ancient Gear Soldier finally collapsed into two perfectly separated pieces, exploding and sending fragments of metal and gears across the train car.

 **Ash Grey: 6400LP**

Gritting his teeth at the loss of his monster and the sizable hit to his Aura and life points, Ash tried to regain his bearing but before he could a second Samurai leapt through the swirling smoke of Ancient Gear Soldier's remains. Before he could react to the sudden appearance of Kizan, Ash took a heavy slash across the chest staggering the older Duelist while his Aura tried to shrug off the blow, unfortunately the surprise attack had removed a sizable chunk of his life points.

 **Ash Grey: 4300LP**

Looking up to face his opponents, Ash's eyes widened in surprise as Adam's third Six Samurai quickly closed in on him. "Fun little fact for you, while I control another Six Samurai, Nisashi can attack twice per turn" Adam laughed as his verdant warrior rushed towards its target. Just as Nisashi brought his sword down for the first slash it was caught out of the air by the mechanical hand of Ancient Gear Soldier as the rest of the robot pieced itself back together.

"Did you forget about my Ancient Gear Reborn bub?" Ash chuckled while Ancient Gear Soldier pushed back Nisashi's blade.

Once more Adam's lips twitched in barely concealed annoyance before letting out a small sigh. "Nisashi get back here now" Adam growled while both his and Ash's monster stared each other down. Glancing back to his summoner, Nisashi nodded and began walking back, if reluctantly, to his side of the field.

Once the green clad warrior's back was turned, Ancient Gear Solder flipped off the sneering samurai with his free hand while the chamber on his gun-arm began to rotate steadily in place. The crude gesture was so unexpected to Blake that she couldn't hold back the snort of laughter from leaving her and she wasn't the only. Just ahead of her X-Saber Galahad let out a stuttering croak that Blake realised was the chameleon warrior doubling over in laughter.

Even Adam's other monsters reacted to Ancient Gear Soldier's opinion of Nisashi in their own way. The normally stoic Kizan broke into a charming smile while Nisashi returned Ancient Gear Soldier's gesture with one of his own. Shi En remained as impassive as ever but Blake could just make out the sound of a small chuckle from behind the legendary samurai's helmet. Adam himself simply scowled at Ash from his position ignoring the commotion around him. The whole display just went to show how truly alive the Duel Monsters were. Even Ash's Ancient Gear monsters had their own personalities, something one wouldn't really expect from menacing war bots.

"So, are you done with your turn? I kinda wanna get started" Ash chuckled preparing to draw his next card. Not bothering to answer the older Duelist, Adam simply gave him a terse nod. "Perfect, I draw" Ash declared pulling the top card from his deck with a smirk. "I suppose it's time I tell you the second part of my Ancient Gear Castle's effect" Ash stated, getting Blake's attention in the process.

 _"If Adam hadn't taken Pashuul we wouldn't have to find out"_ Blake thought bitterly to herself.

"I can send Ancient Gear Castle to the graveyard to tribute summon an Ancient Gear monster. With one gear counter I can summon a level five or six monster but with two counters I can summon a level seven or higher monster" Ash smiled as cracks began to from across the castle behind him. "Now, by sending Ancient Gear Castle to the grave I call on a good friend to come to my aid, I summon Ancient Gear Golem!" (Level 8 Earth Machine ATK: 3000 DEF: 3000)

As Ash made his declaration the enormous structure directly behind him began to break away at the seams. Massive chunks of stone and oversized gears rained down, falling to either side of the moving train and flattening anything unlucky enough to be crushed underneath the veritable avalanche of stone and machinery.

Covering herself to avoid the falling debris Blake could just barely make out a towering figure emerging from the crumbling structure. Almost three times larger than the rest of the assembled Duelists and monsters, Ancient Gear Golem was a monstrously tall machine. Much like the rest of the Ancient Gear monsters it was covered in thick armour plating with gigantic gears spread throughout its chassis. Its right arm was thicker than a tree trunk and ended in a thick metal fist while its left was thinner but instead ended in a trio of menacing claws that flexed as the mighty golem stepped forward to survey its adversaries.

Sparing a quick glance towards Adam, Blake could see the tension building up in his jaw, this wasn't part of the plan. This was supposed to be a quick and easy heist, no one would get hurt save for the automated security. They certainly didn't account for the possibility of a seasoned Duelist, much less one that could call on such a monstrous force as Ash's golem. Looking at their assembled monsters Blake could see the unease creeping into both X-Saber Galahad and Nisashi while Kizan and Shi En remained as calm as ever. Even Ash's Ancient Gear Soldier seemed to be somewhat intimidated by the golem towering over him, it probably didn't help that with the castle now gone he lost his three hundred attack point boost.

 **Ancient Gear Soldier's ATK: 1500**

"Impressive isn't he?" Ash chuckled running a hand along the side of his golem's monstrous leg. "First card I ever got and he's been with me through a hell of a lot of battles" Ancient Gear Golem slowly looked down towards his summoner, giving him a nod of approval. "Next, I activate the equip spell Ancient Gear Fist and equip it to my golem!" Ash declared activating this newest spell which appeared before him in card form. However before the giant mechanical fist could emerge, the card itself was suddenly cut in half before exploding, blinding Ash and his assembled robotic monsters.

"Sorry to disappoint you old man but I don't think so" Adam growled menacingly as Shi En slowly sheathed his katana. "Once per turn if you activate a spell or trap card, Shi En can negate and destroy it" Adam's statement brought a small crease to the otherwise cheerful Ash's face.

"Fine I can work around that" Ash grunted as Ancient Gear Golem took a step forward, nearly buckling the train with its immense weight. "If I can't use my spells we'll just have to do this the old fashioned way, Ancient Gear Golem attack Shi En with Mechanized Melee!" Ash commanded and his golem wasted no time in obeying. Lunging forward with shocking speed for a Duel Monster so large, Ancient Gear Golem slammed its colossal fist into Adam's lead samurai, who drew his sword just in time to block the attack.

As the two powerhouses clashed for dominance it was clear that Ash's mechanized behemoth would come out on top as it slowly lost pushed Shi En back. "I'll use Shi En's other effect, by sacrificing another Six Samurai monster on my field I can protect Shi En from destruction." Giving Nisashi a curt nod was all it took to get the verdant warrior to act. Dropping into a kneeling position Nisashi quickly drew his blade before plunging it into his own stomach and exploding in a blinding flash of light that raced towards Shi En and quickly enshrouded the beleaguered samurai. With one final push Ancient Gear Golem hurled Shi En backwards into Kizan who caught the older warrior and helped him back to his feet.

 **Adam Taurus: 3500LP**

If Adam felt any pain from the loss of his life points or from the loss of Nisashi he didn't show it and Blake only felt her sense of apprehension towards her partner grow. He had just written off Nisashi as if he was no more than a tool, true it was to protect Shi En but it still left a sour taste in Blake's mouth.

"Well I wasn't expecting that" Ash hummed to himself passing a quick glance over to his Soldier who shrugged back in turn. "Yeah, guess we don't have much choice, Ancient Gear Soldier open fire on X-Saber Galahad!" Ash declared and his respective monster immediately dropped to a knee and leveled his weapon towards Blake's reptilian warrior.

"What?! But my monster has more attack than yours!" Blake exclaimed in confusion.

"Nice try but I'm familiar with some of your monsters, Galahad gains power when he attacks but he loses it when he's the target" Ash smirked. The single blue eye in Ancient Gear Soldier's helmet flashed menacingly as his arm unleashed a hailstorm of bullets that raced towards the surprised Galahad. Once more Blake wanted to activate her face down cards but just as before they were locked out while Ash's monsters were attacking.

 **X-Saber Galahad's ATK: 1300**

Galahad was powerless to protect itself from the armoured robot's attack and quickly fell to the barrage of bullets before dissolving out of existence. Blake fell to one knee as the strain of keeping her connection to her new deck sapped her Aura along with the sudden loss of her life points, only barely aware of the judgmental glare from her partner and the echoes of worry from the rest of her deck.

 **Blake Belladonna: 3500LP**

On the other side of the train Ancient Gear Soldier spun the rotary chamber of its gun-arm triumphantly after dispatching the monster that had defeated it previously. However upon seeing the clearly pained train robber on the other side of the car, passed a worried look to its summoner. Ash only returned the same worried look to his soldier and golem, an unspoken agreement running between the trio. "Sorry about that, I was going to attack Nisashi first but your partner took care of him before we could" Ash's apology actually managed to break the strained Duelist from the pain eating away at her Aura. Looking up to the older Duelist in confusion, only one thing ran through the raven haired beauty's head as his menacing looking war machines surrounded him.

 _"What is with this guy?"_

Blake couldn't understand why he was acting so… differently than anyone she had fought before. Was being a nice person really such a foreign concept to her that she couldn't wrap her head around it? No that couldn't be it, her parents had… Shaking her head to rid herself of the painful memories Blake slowly got to her feet only to hear the angered bark from her partner.

"I suggest you quit talking to her old man or else!" Adam's hand was now firmly gripped around the handle of Blush. The red haired swordsman's arms and back were practically ready to explode with the tension built up in them.

"For someone so protective of their partner you sure as hell don't show it son" Ash growled back, all humour leaving his somewhat wrinkled face. "You steal her monsters from her for yourself, you berate her for her strategies and you ignore her when she's in pain." Turning to face Blake, his features softened before addressing the panting girl, her mask was making it difficult to breathe but she knew she couldn't take it off. "Why are you even with him?" Ash's voice was filled with genuine concern and intrigue, the enigma that the pair of Duelists in front of him represented was a mystery that he wanted to try and get to the bottom of.

"I.." Blake started before trailing off uncertainly. It was a question she had been asking herself for quite some time now. It was one that she had still yet to find an answer for.

"Enough of this!" Adam barked pulling Blush into a firing position with unprecedented speed. Before Blake could shout at her partner to stop, Adam unleashed three quick rounds, each one aimed for the grey haired Duelist across the train car.

 _*Ting*_

 _*Ting*_

 _*Ting*_

Expecting the sickening sound of bullets entering flesh, Blake was not expecting the loud metallic sound and slowly turned to face Ash once more. As fast as Adam had been Ash's monsters had been faster. Ancient Gear Soldier now stood with his arms spread wide, two dents now impacted into his armoured form, one in the head and one in the shoulder. Behind him Ancient Gear Golem had dropped to both knees and brought both his arms down forming a nigh impenetrable wall of metal, Adam's third bullet hadn't even left a mark on the golem's imposing figure.

"Nice try son but you're not the first person to take a pot shot at me during a match, you're probably not gonna be the last either" Ash chuckled as both his monsters returned back into their original position, revealing the grey haired Duelist, no worse for wear.

"We'll see about that, when this is over I'll-"

"Adam!" Blake cried in horror at the twisted grin spreading across the crimson swordsman's face. "What the hell was that!?" Blake demanded taking a step towards him, she could just see Kizan and Shi En reach for the blades at their hips but she ignored them.

"I was trying to save us some time and take care of this trash" Adam replied, slipping Blush back into its original place at his hip.

"Not like this! He's just doing his job!" Blake exclaimed, the mask covering her face barely able to hold back her outrage at her partner's callousness.

"Whatever, are you done yet old man?!" Adam shouted over to their opponent who gave the pair another calculating stare before nodding his head.

"Yeah, yeah I'm done for now" Ash sighed, glancing at Blake wearily.

Still angered by the stunt Adam had just pulled, Blake drew the top card of her deck a little more forcefully than she normally would have. Glancing down at her field and Ash's assembled monsters Blake's mind began to race. _"I can go on the attack now, I can't do anything to that golem but his soldier is vulnerable. I take him out and he has one less defense… against Adam…"_ Her mind was already made up before she began placing her newest summon down. To her there really wasn't any other choice in the matter. "I summon XX-Saber Fulhelmknight (Level 3 Earth Warrior Tuner ATK: 1300 DEF: 1000) to the field in attack!" Blake declared calling forth a short, blond haired warrior with a short sword and billowing red cape to the field.

Giving his summoner a thumb's up, Fulhelmknight flicked his sword to the side activating its hidden functionality. The blade quickly began to segment itself into a whip-like form, with each metal shard held to one another other by an electrical tether. "I end my turn" Blake's soft words nearly had Fulhelmknight tripping over his own cape as he whipped around to look at her in confusion. Shaking her head slowly Blake tried her best to convey her emotions towards her monster whose eyes widened in understanding. Retracting the whip-blade to its more docile form, Fulhelmknight passed a quick glance towards Blake's partner and his assembled warriors wondering how the man would react to Blake's rather uneventful turn.

Without even looking back to his partner, Adam drew the top card from his deck and once more Swiftstrike Armor unleashed a flash of electricity that arced towards Adam and electrified the card he had just drawn. "With Swiftstrike Armor I summon Spirit of the Six Samurai (Level 3 Earth Warrior Union ATK: 500 DEF: 500) to the field!" Adam declared as an ethereal blue warrior emerged from a Six Samurai glyph.

"Not much to look at" Ash smirked as the ghostly warrior hovered in place. It was true with only five hundred attack points, Spirit of the Six Samurai was less than threatening as an attacker but Blake knew his effect more than made up for it.

"Tch, we'll see, I activate Spirit's effect and equip him to Legendary Six Samurai – Shi En increasing my warrior's attack by five hundred!" Adam declared and the ghostly form of Spirit of the Six Samurai rushed towards Shi En enveloping the seasoned warrior in the same ethereal blue glow that comprised his body.

 **Legendary Six Samurai – Shi En's ATK: 3000**

"Time to get rid of those eyesores, Kizan attack his Soldier now!" Adam barked and his black armoured Samurai was quick to obey. Lunging forward, Kizan drew his sword with deft efficiency and before Ash's Ancient Gear Soldier could react sliced the hardened war machine to pieces with a barrage of precision cuts.

 **Ash Grey: 4000LP**

As the diced up pieces of Ancient Gear Soldier clattered to the floor of the train car, Shi En bent down low placing the palm of his hand on the pommel of his sword's hilt. "Take it down" Adam ordered and like any seasoned soldier Shi En obeyed dashing forward. Reacting to Shi En's blistering speed with its own, Ancient Gear Golem countered with his own attack. Fist met blade in a spectacular clash as both Duel Monsters vied for dominance over the other, however with both of their attack points resting at three thousand it looked as though it would be a draw and both monsters would be destroyed, that is until Adam snapped his fingers. As soon as the distinctive sound echoed across the battlefield, Kizan dropped to his own knees and just like Nisashi before him, drove the blade of his own sword through his armoured abdomen. Exploding in a burst of black energy Kizan's life essence enshrouded Shi En protecting him from the destructive force of Ancient Gear Golem's counterattack.

Using Kizan's protection Shi En pushed back the attack and with one clean strike, cut Ancient Gear Golem down the middle. Staring back in shock at what had just transpired the two halves of Ancient Gear Golem slid apart slowly before the entirety of the metal behemoth exploded in a shower of metal and gears once more littering the floor of the train car with the mechanical remains of Ash's Duel Monster.

"So much for that hunk of scrap" Adam chuckled as Shi En returned to his side of the field but not before bowing to the remains of Ancient Gear Golem. "Oh, by the way, whenever a monster equipped with Spirt of the Six Samurai destroys another monster it allows me to draw an extra card from my deck" Adam smirked drawing a fresh card and bringing his hand count to four.

"Since I have yet to normal summon I'll do it now that my battle phase is over and call out The Six Samurai – Yaichi (Level 3 Water Warrior ATK: 1300 DEF: 800) to the field in attack!" Like Adam's previous monsters, Yaichi also stepped out of the spinning Six Samurai glyph, his yellow armour shining like gold as he stepped beside Shi En. Unlike those that came before though, Yaichi was armed not with a sword, as one would expect but a yumi, a type of bow Blake remembered, that originated in Mistral.

"Well if you're going to bring out your monsters I might as well do the same" Ash grunted, looking down to the piles of metal and gears that were scattered in front of him which began to piece themselves back together. Once more Ancient Gear Soldier rose from the scrapyard that had once been the remains of both himself and Ancient Gear Golem. The armoured soldier leveled his gun-arm towards Adam and his monsters, clearly unhappy with being destroyed for the third time.

"Why didn't you bring back your Golem?" Blake asked in confusion. Ancient Gear Soldier had been incredibly helpful to him but clearly Ancient Gear Golem would have been a better and far more powerful choice.

"Wish I could, but Ancient Gear Golem can't be special summoned so I can't use Ancient Gear Reborn on him" Ash explained, doing his best to hide the strain losing Ancient Gear Golem had taken on his Aura.

"What a shame, this will be your last turn old man, make it count" Adam drawled unsympathetically.

"Heh, you do care" Ash chuckled drily, drawing his next card. Even from across the train Blake could spot the glint in the older Duelist's eyes, he was down but far from out. "I activate the spell Ancient Gear Workshop, this allows me to add one Ancient Gear monster from my graveyard to my hand… that is unless you want to negate it?" Ash grinned, keeping his gaze locked on Adam. The pair stared each other down for what felt like an eternity until Adam's lips twitched in a knowing smirk.

"No you can have your golem back, even if you do call it out, it's still no threat to me" Adam chuckled.

"I love a good fake out" Ash laughed the serious look from before vanished the moment his duel disk's graveyard ejected Ancient Gear Golem for him to use.

"What!?" Adam barked angrily.

"I summon to the field Ancient Gear Hunting Hound (Level 3 Earth Machine ATK: 1000 DEF: 1000) in attack mode!" Ash declared. Amongst the scattered debris of metal and gears leapt a mechanical dog barely reaching Ancient Gear Soldier's knees in terms of height. The dull metal chassis of the mechanized canine mimicked that of the other Ancient Gear monsters. As this new arrival ran around in circles chasing its own tail Blake felt a deep surge of apprehension towards the mechanical mutt. She didn't like normal dogs, much less metal ones with two massive fangs jutting out of their bottom lip.

A sharp whistle echoed across the train snapping Blake from her thoughts as Ash waved his hand to get the hunting hound's attention. "Come on boy focus for me, ok?" Ash asked kneeling down just in time for his hunting hound to run towards him. Leaping into his summoner's arms Ancient Gear Hunting Hound ran the slab of metal that must have been his tongue across Ash's cheek as he scratched the metal hound behind the ear. "Ok, come on boy remember what we talked about?" At his summoner's question hunting hound's ears shot into the air and nodded his head before spinning around to face both Blake and Adam a snarl echoing from his metal mouth.

"That one" Ash was pointing directly towards Adam. Without waiting another moment, Ancient Gear Hunting Hound rushed forward, darting underneath Ancient Gear Soldier's legs as it raced towards the other side of the train car. Coming to a skidding halt halfway across the still moving platform, hunting hound opened its fanged mouth wide revealing, of all things, a small cannon embedded where a normal animal's throat would be. "Sic em boy!" Ash laughed as a jet of fire erupted from his hound's mouth. The blast of fire was so unexpected and fast that it bypassed both Adam's samurai's and engulfed the crimson sword wielder in the fiery conflagration.

As the flames died down and Ancient Gear Hunting Hound bounded back to his side of the field, letting loose synthesized yips the whole time, Adam staggered forward brushing away some of the flames that still clung to him. "What the hell was that?!" Adam demanded hand already reaching for Blush once more.

"That was hunting hound's effect, whenever he's summoned to the field I can deal six hundred damage to my opponent" Ash smirked as his dog continued to run laps around their side of the field.

Glancing down at his duel disk, Adam's mouth contorted into an ugly scowl, watching his life points dip once more. The hit to his aura had been negligible but at this point he just wanted to be rid of the old fool he was stuck dueling.

 **Adam Taurus: 2900LP**

"Well is that it then, a stupid mutt and some burn damage?" Adam growled, his impatience now clearly visible even to his opponent.

"Not even close son, hunting hound has two effects. His second effect is that I can conduct a fusion summon using Ancient Gear monsters from my field or hand" Ash explained, taking a deep breath for the immense strain his Aura was about to undertake. "Using Ancient Gear Hunting Hound, Ancient Gear Soldier and Ancient Gear Golem in my hand I fuse my three machines to call upon the ultimate mechanical behemoth! I fusion summon Ultimate Ancient Gear Golem! (Level 10 Earth Machine ATK: 4400 DEF: 3400)

Upon his declaration Ancient Gear Golem appeared behind Ash along with his other monsters. The three robotic war machines began to break apart, their pieces racing towards one another in a torrent of swirling metal. Shielding her head from the swirling debris Blake was nearly blinded by the intense flash of light at the epicenter of the swirling maelstrom of metal as the three monsters fused to form a brand new behemoth. Ash's new monster touched down onto the train with a colossal crash that threatened to completely derail the train itself and succeeded in throwing Blake to the ground with the sheer force of the impact.

Glancing up Blake's eyes widened in shock at the grey haired Duelist's latest summon. Ultimate Ancient Gear Golem was an absurdly giant monster, standing nearly twice as tall as Ancient Gear Golem. Like the rest of Ash's monsters Ultimate Ancient Gear Golem was heavily armoured with multiple large gears protruding from its hardened chassis. Its lower half looked like the body of a colossal metal horse with four chiselled legs. Somehow it seemed as if it's right arm was now even thicker than before forming a fist that looked like it could crush one of the train cars with little effort. Its left arm ended in an imposing three clawed hand that looked as if it could shred metal like paper.

All of this coupled with the intense power emanating from it set Blake's sense on high alert, this thing was not to be taken lightly. Glancing back down from the behemoth to its summoner Blake's eyes widened at the pained look on Ash's face. Summoning such a powerful creature would be taxing on even the hardiest Duelist and it was pretty clear that Ash was getting well past his prime. That was always one of the major issues with summoning immensely powerful monsters like this, a Duelist's Aura and body had to be strong enough to maintain the creature otherwise it would burn them out and leave them an exhausted husk.

"Sorry but I've got to end this quick" Ash wheezed, the strain of maintaining his second most powerful monster draining him quickly. "Ultimate Ancient Gear Golem attack The Six Samurai – Yaichi with Mechanized Onslaught!" Ash commanded pointing to the bow wielding samurai on Adam's side of the field. The heavy foot falls of Ash's behemoth nearly buckled the train as it closed in on Adam's bowman. Cocking its massive right hand back Ultimate Ancient Gear Golem unleashed a catastrophic punch towards Yaichi. For Blake time seemed to slow down as Ash's ultimate golem unleashed its match ending punch.

 _"He won't survive that attack… Damn it I have no choice!"_

"I activate the effect of XX-Saber Fulhelmknight!" Blake announced much to the other Duelist's surprise. "Once, while Fulhelmknight's on the field I can negate one attack!" Blake explained as her red caped warrior leapt in between the attacking monster and Yaichi. With a flick of his wrist the segmented sword broke off into its separate pieces with electricity arcing between each piece to form a shield. The shield formed just in time as Ultimate Ancient Gear Golem's attack slammed into the electrified barrier with titanic force kicking up an intense blast of air that split off to either side of the shield. Unfortunately for Blake that meant it was heading right for her.

Caught completely unprepared for the sudden burst of air, Blake was hurled from the train, her arms flailing out desperately for something to grab onto. Just as Blake thought that there was no hope to save her, Fulhelmknight's whip-sword coiled around her duel disk locking her in place for the moment, dangling helplessly from the still moving train. It was difficult to see with the intense burning in her eyes from the force of the wind but she could just make out the form of her Duel Monster trying desperately to pull her back onto the train.

Suddenly the train jostled to the left throwing everyone on board off balance including Fulhelmknight. Lurching forward the stout warrior was pulled off the train along with his summoner. "Golem!" Ash shouted, watching as the raven haired girl and her monster were thrown from the train. Moving faster than anything that large should be able to, Ultimate Ancient Gear Golem's left hand shot out like a piston, the three clawed hand closing firmly around Fulhelmknight. Pulling both monster and Duelist back onto the train as gently as it could Ultimate Ancient Gear Golem dropped the shaken pair down in front of Ash who was already wiping the hair from Blake's shocked face.

"You alright there kiddo? Gave me one hell of a start" Ash chuckled holding out a hand for Blake to take.

"I-I… Why did you save us?" Blake stammered uncertainly. They were enemies and he could have left her to fall off the train that way it'd just be him versus Adam, but instead he chose to save her.

"Not about to let a kid get hurt like that, I'm not a monster after all" Ash's words did little to ease Blake's confusion but it fit with everything else this man had done and said since the duel started.

"You better get away from her old man or so help me…" Even from across the entire train car Blake could easily hear the venom spewing from Adam. She knew she had to go back, staying behind longer was only going to make things worse.

"You better get going before that boy gives himself an aneurism" Ash sighed cracking his neck from side to side. "Oh and you can stop holding back, I might not be as young as I used to be but I can still put up one hell of a fight."

Surprised by the comment Blake found herself at a loss for what to say to the man, instead opting for a simple nod of her head and a murmured "thank you." Once more he had thrown her for a loop, he had just saved her life and was now telling her to come at him with everything she had, nothing the man did made any logical sense.

"Don't mention it kiddo… By the way you have really pretty eyes, you shouldn't hide them behind those ugly ass masks." Shocked by the comment Blake's hand immediately shot up to her face where her ivory mask should have been, if it hadn't been blown away while she was hanging from the train.

Walking back to her position beside Adam with a sulking Fulhelmknight at her side seemed to take forever. Everything about this duel was throwing her for a loop, her cards, her opponent, Adam's increasingly violent behaviour, being thrown from the train only to be rescued by her opponent. It just seemed to be a never ending parade of shocks and twists that she was having trouble wrapping her head around.

Feeling a small nudge to her side Blake looked over to see XX-Saber Fulhelmknight looking at her worriedly. Duel Monsters felt what their summoner's felt and no doubt the confusion and uncertainty roiling within Blake had the blonde haired sword wielder more than a little concerned for her.

"I'm ok and thanks for saving me back there" Blake gave Fulhelmknight a small smile that seemed to brighten the sword wielder considerably as they finally took up their positions next to Adam. Looking over to her partner, Blake's brow furrowed at the total lack of acknowledgment he was giving her, he seemed to be completely focused on Ash and his mechanized behemoth.

"It's your move kiddo!" Ash called out from across the train car and Blake nodded slowly in acknowledgment drawing a card from her deck to signify the beginning of her turn. Glancing at her newest card she realised she could actually take down Ash's monster but the thought of doing so only made her feel worse. If she destroyed his ultimate golem then he would be at Adam's mercy immediately afterwards, but then again this duel had to end at some point and she couldn't drag it on forever.

 _"Oh and you can stop holding back, I might not be as young as I used to be but I can still put up one hell of a fight."_

Ash's words from just a few moments earlier came right back to her. He said it himself, told her not to hold back because he could take it. Reluctantly, Blake set her plan into motion getting an encouraging nod from the blonde swordsman in front of her. I summon X-Saber Uruz (Level 4 Earth Beast-Warrior ATK: 1600 DEF: 1000) to the field in attack mode!" Blake exclaimed, placing Uruz's card down on Gambol Shroud. The armour-clad, panther warrior leapt from yet another glowing X with twin hook blades at the ready and a defiant snarl on his lips as he took up position beside Fulhelmknight.

"Next I…" once more Blake hesitated, looking from her monsters who were primed for whatever their summoner had in store, to Adam whose gaze was still fixed on Ash across from him and finally to the man she was tasked with defeating who gave her a simple thumb's up. Taking a steadying breath, Blake focused on the task at hand, steadying her Aura as it connected her with her unfamiliar monsters. "Using my level three tuner XX-Saber Fulhelmknight and level four monster X-Saber Uruz I synchro summon!" Blake exclaimed.

Both Blake's X-Saber's leapt into the air glowing as their levels synced with one another to form a new monster. "Horned warrior, who wields twin blades, come to my side! I synchro summon X-Saber Urbellum!" (Level 7 Earth Warrior ATK: 2200 DEF: 1300)

The two monsters disappeared in a blinding flash of light and in its place was a glowing orange X in the sky. For a moment there was no movement from the sky bound symbol, until suddenly a warrior, clad in black armour dropped down to the train below. His armour was mostly covering his chest and shoulders while leaving his chiselled midriff exposed for those around him to see. Covering much of his face was a bone white mask not unlike the masks Blake and Adam wore, however his ended in a pair of black horns that curved upwards menacingly.

Drawing the twin swords from his back, Urbellum brandished his weapons defiantly towards the hulking mechanical monster Ash had summoned to the field. Despite the clear difference in both power and size, the dauntless synchro monster showed no fear in the face of such adversity. Looking at the cocksure warrior Blake initially felt like Urbellum was simply showing off to throw Ash and his ultimate golem off. That is until her Aura fully connected with the sword wielder and she was assaulted with a feeling she had not felt in an incredibly long time. Confidence, unbridled and fully devoted confidence, but not in Urbellum's own abilities, no. Every ounce of this unshaken belief was directed from the twin sword wielding warrior to his summoner and the feeling absolutely floored her.

Turning his masked head ever so slightly so as to lock his piercing amber eyes with Blake's own Urbellum gave her the smallest of nods. The simple gesture was all Blake needed to realise what the warrior was saying, he trusted her, they all trusted her and knew that she would lead them down the right path.

Bolstered by this newfound sense of pride from her deck Blake stepped forward straightening herself to stand by her monster. "Now I activate the spell card Full-Force Strike!" Blake announced, activating this new spell with unshakable conviction. An intense light suddenly erupted from Gambol Shroud, bathing Urbellum in a blinding glow that seemed to set his swords ablaze. "Now whenever Urbellum attacks a monster this turn that monster is immediately destroyed regardless of how strong they are and neither player takes any battle damage!" Blake announced noticing that she seemed to have finally gotten Adam's attention away from Ash for the first time since the duel began.

"Now X-Saber Urbellum, attack Ultimate Ancient Gear Golem with X-Maelstrom!" Without waiting a moment longer the battle eager Urbellum leapt towards the towering figure of Ash's Ultimate Ancient Gear Golem with blistering speed. Reeling its massive fist back Ultimate Ancient Gear Golem launched an earth shattering punch towards the incoming sword wielder. Under normal circumstances Urbellum would have been swatted away like a gnat, but now that he was bolstered with the unstoppable power of Full-Force Strike he simply lashed out with his blades, carving off the gigantic fist of his foe with no resistance.

Leaping onto Ultimate Ancient Gear Golem's now handless arm, the twin bladed warrior kept on running, dragging one of his swords up his foe's arm and melting anything that came in contact with the seemingly unstoppable blade. Taking one final leap Urbellum leapt directly in front of the hulking mass of machinery and unleashed the full strength of his attack. His twin swords quickly became a golden blur as they carved the hardened chassis of Ultimate Ancient Gear Golem to pieces and before anyone could believe their eyes the colossal golem collapsed into a heap of melted scrap metal and distorted gears.

Slowly walking back to Blake Urbellum gave his summoner a grandiose bow as he sheathed both blades back into their scabbards on his back before taking up his position once more in front of Blake. It was then that the raven haired Duelist had her attention turned to her opponent and she felt a very strong twinge of regret at what she saw. Clutching the left side of his chest in obvious pain Ash was nearly doubled over amongst the smoking remains of his monster, while his life points may have been safe the toll this duel was having on his Aura was quickly becoming too much for the older Duelist. Before Blake could say anything however a sudden rumbling began shaking the entire train.

Glancing towards the ruined remains of Ultimate Ancient Gear Golem, Adam, Blake and their assembled monsters were all shocked to see a familiar colossal fist explode out of the wreckage. The mass of scrap metal and gears heaved upwards and fell to the side revealing Ancient Gear Golem as he hoisted himself back into a standing position, stunning everyone else on the train.

"What is this!?" Adam shouted in outrage as the newly reformed golem's menacing gaze locked on Adam and his samurais. "You said your golem can't be special summoned!" Adam continued pointing an accusing finger towards Ash as the older Duelist seemed to finally catch his breath.

"And he can't, however when Ultimate Ancient Gear Golem is destroyed I can special summon him from my grave… and ignore his summoning conditions" Ash smirked as the outraged look on Adam's face only grew larger and larger.

"That's it, Blake end your turn I'm finishing him right here and now" Adam barked, drawing a fresh card, not even waiting for Blake to officially end her turn. "You're done old man!" Adam shouted, slamming a new card down on his duel disk with a ferocity that set even Blake on edge. "I activate the spell Mini-Guts!" Adam's newest spell quickly revealed itself letting off an unnerving green glow as it prepared to unleash its power. "First I just need a willing volunteer, I guess X-Saber Urbellum will have to do" Adam snarled as the intense glow enshrouded the masked swordsman. However unlike Full-Force Strike this glowing energy didn't bolster Urbellum's strength, instead it seemed to be causing the swordsman unfathomable pain causing him to drop to his knees and let loose an otherworldly howl.

"Adam! What the hell are you doing!? Stop this!" Blake shouted over the sounds of her deteriorating monster as he began to disintegrate right before his summoner's eyes.

"Sorry my dear but everyone needs to give their all to support the cause" Adam grinned as Mini-Guts finished with Urbellum breaking down the proud warrior into the same glowing green energy that had leapt from his spell to begin with. Turning his attention back to his opponent Adam's face broke into a wicked grin as the energy from Mini-Guts suddenly exploded towards Ancient Gear Golem, covering the hulking machine in the same green energy. This time however instead of being broken down like Urbellum Ash could only watch in shock as his golem's attack points were sapped down to zero.

 **Ancient Gear Golem's ATK: 0**

"At the small cost of another monster Mini-Guts reduces the attack of any monster you control to zero and then if that monster is destroyed its controller takes damage equal to its original attack" Adam drawled, giving Shi En a nod towards the weakened golem that had now taken a knee in front of Ash to protect its summoner as best it could. "Say goodbye old man! Legendary Six-Samurai dispatch that pile of scrap with Kiri-Sute Gomen!" Adam commanded ferociously.

Shi En quickly grabbed the hilt of his sword and a blinding burst of silver energy erupted from the sheath. Drawing the blade with blinding speed Shi En slashed at the air in front of him unleashing a crescent blade of pure silver energy that raced towards the weakened golem. Before Ancient Gear Golem could even raise an arm to defend itself from the approaching attack, the silver blade of energy slashed clean through the towering golem from shoulder to hip.

For a moment it looked as if nothing would happen until the horrific sound of metal grinding against metal pierced the air as the bifurcated halves of Ancient Gear Golem slid away from each other. Crashing to the deck of the train with a cacophonous crash Ash fell to his knees as both his Aura and life points withstood the brutal toll of Adam's attack.

 **Ash Grey: 1500LP**

"Don't get too comfortable old man, Mini-Guts isn't done with you yet" Adam laughed sadistically. Glancing up to the remains of his golem, Ash's eyes went wide as the green energy that had erupted from Mini-Guts began to pour out of his monster's remains. Shielding himself as best as he could with his arms Ash was blown backwards by the intense explosion that erupted from Ancient Gear Golem. "You take damage equal to your golem's attack" Adam's grin was practically from ear to ear as smoke rose up from the shattered remains of Ancient Gear Golem.

 **Ash Grey: 0LP**

 **Winners: Blake Belladonna and Adam Taurus**

"Only one thing left to take care of then" Adam said placing his cards back into his deck and drawing out the handle of Wilt as he slowly made his way towards the swirling mass of smoke kicked up by Ash's defeat. Just behind the masked sword wielder both Shi En and Yaichi followed behind their summoner weapons at the ready in case they needed to defend him. Reattaching Wilt's handle with its blade with an audible _snap_ Adam cut through the smoke with a swing of his reformed sword before coming to a shocked halt.

There, leant up against crate and cradling a bloody gash in his side was the Ancient Gear Duelist Ash but it was the figure standing between him and his prey that had his undivided attention. Standing at the coupling between the two cars was his partner with the blade of Gambol Shroud at the ready and a forlorn look on her face as she tried to look past the mask and into the eyes of the man who had meant so much to her for so long.

"I'm sorry."

And with those two words Blake cut through the coupling holding the two train cars together. Adam felt the sudden lurch of his car decelerating while the car Blake was on sped away separating the two partners for the first time since they had met. To his left the yellow armoured Yaichi drew back his bow and took aim at the figures as they grew further and further away. The shrewd bowman would have taken the shot if not for his summoner reaching out to force his monster's arms back down. Looking back up Adam felt his heart sink as the other half of the train turned a corner hiding Blake from him.

 _"I will find you my love."_

* * *

Taking a shuddering breath Blake fell to her knees as her section of the train pulled away. She did it, she had been planning this for what felt like forever but she finally did it, she left, she escaped… she ran away. She may have been free but it still left a horrid taste in the raven haired Duelists mouth as she came to terms with what she just done.

A raspy cough was what broke her out of her trance-like state. Turning around her eyes fell on Ash, still clutching his side in pain as blood slowly trickled down his side. Getting up in a rush Blake ran over to the bleeding Duelist with worry in her eyes. He was in this state because of her and if she was going to start turning her life around and making the world a better place then she should start with the man directly in front of her.

"Your Aura took a major hit, you're not healing" Blake muttered as she began to put pressure on the wound. She had basic first aid training, not enough for anything terribly complicated but enough to ensure someone could make it to a professional before they bled out.

"Hey kiddo, see the pouch on my left hip?" Ash rasped lowly, trying to keep his breathing even as the girl at his side tried to undo some of the damage done to him.

"You mean this?" Blake asked lifting up the square pouch and feeling its contents rattle around inside.

"That's the one… grab the card called… Red Medicine… it should do the trick" Ash said between breaths.

Fishing through the assortment of cards Blake's eyes fell on the spell card. Ash didn't have enough strength left to cast it for himself so she would have to do it for him. Channelling her Aura into the unfamiliar card she felt a familiar wall of resistance but just as she had done with her X-Sabers she pushed through that wall until a spherical vial containing a bright crimson liquid dropped into her outstretched hand.

"Alright this is gonna sting a bit" Ash chuckled while Blake uncorked the vial of red liquid.

"Why are you telling me that?" Blake asked in confusion.

"I'm not, just prepping myself for – AARGH!" Ash's chuckle twisted into a howl of pain as the Red Medicine worked its way into the man's open wound. The crimson liquid quickly took effect, closing Ash's wound before Blake's eyes and turning his painful shout into a shuddering breath as the pain relieving effects of the medicine began to work their magic. "That's a whole lot better" Ash breathed deeply, slumping down slowly to the floor of the train.

Taking a deep breath brought a bright smile to the greying Duelist. Looking over to his raven haired companion the older Duelist stuck out his hand towards the confused looking Blake. "I thought since our first introduction was kinda crappy I thought we could start over, the names Ash Grey" the man continued to smile even as Blake shook his hand with a bemused smirk of her own.

"My name's Blake, pleasure to save your life" Blake replied with a small smile of her own.

"Wow I wasn't expecting to get a joke out of you – Agh!" Ash laughed before holding his side in pain and letting out a shuddering cough.

"Are you going to be alright?" Blake asked uncertainly. Ash had taken one hell of a beating during their duel and his Aura was barely keeping him together at this point.

"Who, me? I'll be fine… what about you though?" the greying Duelists asked eyeing Blake while she returned the Red Medicine card to its place in Ash's pouch.

"Me…? I'll be fine" Blake replied slowly. She honestly wasn't sure if she would be, what she had just done was nothing short of insane. However despite these feelings of uncertainty there was a small feeling of assuredness that she had done the right thing, curiously it seemed to be coming from the deck on her wrist.

"You know you didn't have to do all that" Ash grumbled picking himself up to lean back against the crate. "Ditching him I mean, I'm glad you separated the cars."

"No it was a long time coming…" Blake sighed wearily the soreness of the duel finally catching up to her. Shaking her head to clear it, she looked back to the man against the crate with a resigned look on her face. "So do you plan on turning me in?" Blake asked uncertain of how the man would respond to the question.

For a brief moment the greying Duelist's face was a mask of confusion until he burst into a fit of rough laughter that took the girl at his side by surprise. "Are you kidding? You think I have the strength left to try and bring you in? Sorry kiddo but I'm gonna have to let you go" Ash chuckled before leveling a more serious look on the young woman. "But seriously if you hadn't separated the cars… well I sure as hell wouldn't still be here and neither would the rest of the crew, they're up in the first four cars" Ash gave a gentle nod towards the front of the speeding train. "All that we lost was the Dust shipment we were transporting. Now I'm probably gonna lose my job over that but there's more important things in this world than money." The serene smile on his face only reminded Blake of how little she knew about the man as he continued to surprise her with each word from his mouth.

"Why would you be out of a job, you saved all the passengers?" Blake asked in confusion. The man risked his life for the people on this train and he was going to lose his job because they lost some Dust?

"Technically you saved those people not me" Ash chuckled softly, prodding his side gently to make sure the wound had sealed correctly. Satisfied that it had, the greying Duelist slowly got back to his feet before promptly sitting down on top of the crate he had been leaning against. "Also did you forget who you were robbing?" Ash grinned giving the crate he was now sitting on a kick with his boot, but more specifically the snowflake imprinted on the side.

"Jacques Schnee ain't about to let this go without some heads rolling. My guess is they'll trump me up in the media, probably blow the whole thing out of proportion and make me seem like some big god damn hero" Ash explained sounding more tired now than when he was bleeding out. "Then after that they'll either let me go, or shunt me over to something else, old man Schnee doesn't forgive and he sure as hell doesn't forget" Ash's melancholic smile cut Blake deeply because she knew that he was right. The SDC would turn this whole robbery into a promo to their security and how they valued people over money, but once the press lost interest, Ash would be on the receiving end of their fury.

"Now, enough about me and my problems. What about you kiddo, what are you going to do?" Ash asked, patting the crate beside him for her to sit down on. Slowly sitting down beside the Schnee Security officer, Blake remained silent for several minutes, thinking about Ash's question.

"I… have a plan" Blake finally whispered, feeling the pamphlet for Beacon Dueling Academy rustle softly in her pocket.

"That's good, it's always good to have a plan, at least that's what my daughter says" Ash chuckled softly more to himself than anything.

"You have a daughter?" Blake asked curiously, taking note of the older man's smile.

"Sure do, means the world to me, you kinda remind me of her to be honest" Ash continued not noticing the perplexed look on Blake's face.

"How so?" Blake asked uncertainly.

"Well you both seem to have a knack for pulling my sorry ass out of a fire" Ash chuckled earning a bemused look from the raven haired woman to his side. "Also…" he continued with a far more serious look on his worn face "you're both heading in the right direction with a good head on your shoulders."

With that Ash got to his feet slowly stretching his tired arms to either side before turning to Blake. "I'm heading to the front to tell the captain what happened, you're welcome to join if you want" he said with a tired smile.

"No I think it would be better if I just stay back here for now, I'll be getting off at the next stop anyways."

"Downtown Vale huh? Well if you're sure, take care Blake" and with that the older man began his slow walk towards the still intact train cars.

Still on the back of the train Blake gazed out at the passing red forest. She had been planning this for so long that she never thought the actual day would come. But here she was, she was free and she was going to Beacon. Looking down at her deck of X-Sabers she felt the connection that had been lacking before, but there was another. Reaching behind her she undid the metal clasp on one of the pouches on her hip. Pulling out a second deck of cards, Blake's heart shuddered as she felt the stronger connection to this deck as well as the swirling darkness that came with it. Hastily putting the deck back into its pouch Blake let out a shuddering breath.

"It's time for a fresh start."

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** **Hello everyone! Guess who's not dead? It's me! Despite kinda feeling like it lately. So just going to start this off with a big old apology for how late this chapter was in coming out. To sum it up I've recently had a major break up, moved to Ottawa all by myself and now my life has been turned upside down and I have no idea what I'm doing anymore. But fret not for my stories will go on!**

 **On to the notes so obviously this is my Duel Monsters version of the Black trailer. Replacing the Atlesian Knights with Duel Monster facsimiles was one of the things I wanted to do early on and will continue down the road. Picking what archetype of monster would be used was actually really simple for me as I felt the Ancient Gears perfectly represented old machines that will eventually get replaced by sleeker fancier versions when we hit Volume 2 terrain.**

 **Also one major thing I just want to stress is that the X-Sabers are not Blake's main deck. For the time being they will act as her place holder until her true deck is revealed which will be in the future (around the same time as Volume 1 chapter 15). More of her real deck will be revealed over time and I do have it linking in with her story as to why she no longer uses it. Until that time however I feel the X-Saber are a good replacement as many of them are animal-like warriors very reminiscent of Faunus.**

 **At first I toyed with the idea of using just a dueling mech to fill in for Blake and Adam's opponent however I quickly knocked that idea aside for two very important reasons. One it would be boring having just some machine duel the pair and would lack some of the emotion I was trying to convey in this duel. The second is I love the Ancient Gears and wanted/needed an excuse to use them in the future. So yeah Ash will be around later on, I've got plans for him to show back up around Volume 4 so we won't be seeing him for a while.**

 **A lot of you may question in a world of Duel Monsters why do some character still use weapons? Well for that it's simply because I feel that unlike the actual Yu-Gi-Oh show not everything gets decided with a children's card game so some characters will have weapons if it suits them. With Blake and Adam coming from a group of terrorists/freedom fighters it makes sense for them to be armed and able to fight on their own.**

 **Which brings us to another point I was trying to get across and some of you may have noticed. No mention of the White Fang. Even though I know and you know that they're the White Fang I'm still trying to keep it somewhat in line with how RWBY progressed early on where we had no clue until the chapter 15 reveal.**

 **That's basically it for now I just want to thank you all for being so patient with me. Rest assured no story I start will ever die and I will see them all through to the end. Thank you all for reading and I will see you next time!**


	4. Chapter 4 Yang Xiao Long

**Chapter 4: Yang Xiao Long**

There were few sensations in life as exhilarating for Yang Xiao Long as racing down the darkened streets of Downtown Vale. The blonde-haired beauty couldn't help but grin as the wind whipped past her in a furious gust while she wove in and out of what little traffic was out at this time of night. The mischievous grin on the blonde's face spread as she heard the angered honks, mostly drowned out by the roar of her motorcycle, of those she passed by in a blur of unbridled speed. However, tonight was more than just a simple joy ride for the cocksure Duelist. No, tonight she was on a mission and as she made another hairpin turn her stunning lavender eyes lit up upon viewing her destination.

Coming to a screeching halt on the side of the road, Yang eyed the seedy building that supposedly housed one of Vale's most renowned clubs. The grumpy looking bouncer at the front door and the pounding music spilling out of the building were pretty dead giveaways that she made it to the right place.

Owned by a man named Hei Xiong, the club didn't really have a name so most just called it by the owner's nickname, _Junior's._ However, it wasn't the club itself that had caught Yang's attention. The man who ran it was supposedly quite the information broker, with ties to just about everything in Vale both legal and otherwise. And tonight, she had questions that needed answering and she would get them one way or another.

 _"Yep, this looks like the place"_ Yang thought, letting her bike idle for a few more moments before turning it off. Out of the corner of her eye she could already see the bouncer glaring at her, no doubt ready to turn her away the moment she came up to him. _"That's cool buddy, I don't really need your permission. Let's see duel disk, check and deck, check alright we're set!"_ Yang couldn't help but chuckle at the bouncer's reaction as she took off her helmet and goggles. Letting her voluminous golden hair cascade down, she could swear the guy's jaw almost hit the pavement.

Securing her headgear to the side of her bike, Yang made a beeline straight for the front door to the club. Doing a quick mental check Yang made sure she looked her best, it was always good to make a solid first impression after all. Her hair was flowing just the way she liked it, her jacket was fastened to show off her… assets perfectly, her skirt blew softly in the cool night air showing off just enough leg to make any warm-blooded man, or woman, lose focus. But of course, the most important part of her ensemble was the deck of cards secured to the golden bracelet on her left wrist. As she closed in on the bouncer, who seemed to regain at least some of his composure, Yang could feel the burning desire emanating from her deck.

 _"Give it time boys, I bet I'll need you at some point tonight"_ Yang's soothing mental voice seemed to calm her deck, if only a little. Though, that didn't mean the fiery urge to start a fight had gone away. Her dad always told her she needed to exercise more control over her Duel Monsters but that just wasn't her style. Going with the flow was way more fun and her deck seemed to think the same way, it was what made them such an awesome team.

"Nice bike you got there, girl" the gruff bouncer muttered, clearly doing his best to look tough and intimidating.

"Thanks, I made her myself. She's a beauty, isn't she?" Yang grinned cheerily, making her way past the bouncer. Unfortunately, her progress was quickly impeded by the burly man's large arm. Glancing up at the bouncer's face, Yang quirked an eyebrow as if she was wondering what the guy was doing. She had been hoping that her looks and a little well-placed bravado would have been enough to get her through without any problems, it had worked in the past after all. But it seemed that this meathead was just a tad smarter than the rest.

"Something I can help you with?" Yang flashed her brightest smile, mostly to keep the bouncer's attention on her face and not her hands that were discreetly sliding behind her back.

Nice try kid, let's see some ID first" the bouncer grunted rolling his eyes underneath his expensive red sunglasses. He had seen and dealt with countless underage kids trying to get into places they shouldn't over the years and though Yang cut quite a stunning figure it was nothing he hadn't seen before.

"Right see the problem is I don't really have it on me right now, I left it with one of my friends" Yang chuckled running a hand through her golden hair.

"Uh huh, right and where is this friend of yours?" The bouncer quirked his brow at her rather lame excuse, it was an old one he hadn't heard in quite some time.

"Oh, he's right behind you. Hey Switchitter let him have it!" The bouncer was barely able to turn around in time to see the bright red boxing glove before it slammed into his face. The hardened bouncer dropped like a sack of bricks from the surprise punch, his three hundred lien glasses shattering into an irreparable mess of glass and twisted framework.

Glancing down at the prone man Yang gave his body a quick prod with her foot to see if he was still alive. After a few more prodding kicks, the man let out a pained groan before going still once more. "Jeez you nearly knocked his teeth in!" Yang laughed, looking up at her partner in crime, specifically assault and battery.

Battlin' Boxer Switchitter slowly scratched the back of his head abashedly in response making Yang laugh even harder. Somehow the thought of cybernetically enhanced boxers acting bashful was more than a little amusing to the fiery Duelist. "Come on you big lug, help me get him out of sight before someone comes by" Yang said bending down to grab the bouncer by his arms while Switchitter grabbed his legs.

The two quickly made their way to the side of building with the unconscious man in tow. Coming to a halt by a graffiti riddled dumpster, the pair dropped the bouncer to the ground rather unceremoniously so Yang could crack open the lid. Glancing inside Yang quickly pulled her head back at the awful smell rising from the mound of trash and rats. Turning to face her Duel Monster, Yang gestured to the unconscious man with a quick nod of her head. "You want to do the honors?" She asked, holding the lid of the dumpster open for him.

Battlin' Boxer Switchitter let out a raspy grunt that Yang could only guess was a laugh as he leaned down and picked the burly bouncer up. The guy must have been over two hundred and fifty pounds of pure muscle and the white hooded boxer still managed to lift him like he was nothing. With a small grunt Switchitter launched the unconscious man into the air only to have him land perfectly into the open dumpster lid and onto a pile of trash that let out a gag inducing squelch upon impact.

"Goal!" Yang cheered as Switchitter bowed to his audience of one. "Come on, let's head inside and get what we came for" Yang nudged her Duel Monster playfully with her elbow before leaving the dingy alley behind. Just as Yang exited the filthy alley, Switchitter collapsed into a form of pure energy that raced back into the deck on her wrist, vanishing as quickly as he appeared. Yang continued her walk towards the front entrance to _Junior's_ andonce more she could practically feel the rest of her deck seething with barely contained energy. However, this time it felt like they were giving Switchitter a round of congratulatory high fives. Her Battlin' Boxers were a quirky bunch for sure, good natured at heart but with an insatiable desire to punch… well just about anything within arm's reach. It was one of the many things about them they shared with their Duelist, that and a somewhat overprotective bearing for her younger sister.

Walking through the now guard-less front doors, Yang made a straight line for the pumping music that grew louder and louder with each step forward. Glancing around Yang could see other patrons hanging out just outside of the main club. Some shot her questioning looks but most went about their business without so much as a tilt of their head.

Up ahead a pair of large doors slid open automatically, revealing the bustling club at the center of the building. One look at the dance floor and Yang's eyes lit up with excitement. She had found her way into clubs and bars in the past but most of those had been dives, none of them even held a candle to what she was seeing now. A massive dancefloor stretched out in front of the golden-haired Duelist, packed to the limit with easily a hundred dancing and gyrating bodies.

Beginning her descent down the large staircase leading from the entrance Yang's eyes danced across the club with barely contained excitement. Flashing lights from the rotating overhead projector system cast the club in a continuous stream of changing colours. There were glass pillars that constantly displayed shifting images that faded in and out of them scattered around the dancefloor. And the music was pumping out with a beat that sent a steady energizing pulse through her body. Clearly no expense had been spared when building this place.

 _"Damn, I could have a really good time here… but got to focus, find this Junior guy, get the info I want… then party!"_ Making her way through the club and avoiding the other patrons, Yang kept her eyes peeled for the man she was looking for. After only a few minutes of searching Yang's eyes lit up once more upon spotting her quarry. She had only seen a single picture of the guy but there was no mistaking the burly owner of the club. If the black vest and red tie weren't a dead giveaway, the man's thick beard sure as hell was.

Changing her course, Yang began making her way towards her target, keeping her eyes trained on him. He seemed to be talking with another man in a white suit with a bowler hat and a cane, however the pair seemed to finish whatever conversation they were having and the white suited man left taking several of Junior's security staff with him.

Sidling up to the bar beside the club owner Yang waited patiently for him to turn to face her. _"Oh, he already knows I'm here, so how you gonna act buddy?"_ Yang thought to herself. She knew of the man's reputation, tight lipped and unwilling to talk unless you could back it up with lien or something else that caught his interest. After a few relatively quiet moments, the bearded bar owner waved off the two women to his left before finally shooting Yang a quick glance out of the corner of his eye. _"Alright, guess it's show time!"_ Yang thought to herself.

Turning to the bartender working the counter, Yang gave him a quick smile noting how the man to her left was slowly rising back up. "Strawberry sunrise, no ice" Yang told the bartender using her smoothest voice to get his attention, but it felt like she was forgetting something. "Oh! And one of those little umbrellas!" Yang added shattering the cool and calm persona she was trying to set up, but damn it those umbrellas were necessary! Drinks just weren't complete without one.

"Aren't you a little young to be in this club, blondie?" Hei Xiong asked, smirking as he towered over the buxom Duelist. Her little outburst seemed to have caught his attention, which was absolutely part of the plan.

Turning to face the man, Yang had to crane her head just a bit to lock her lavender eyes with his grey ones. "Aren't you a little old to have a name like Junior?" Yang's retort was out of her mouth before she could stop herself but luckily Junior seemed to take it in stride, though his eyes did narrow suspiciously.

"So, you know who I am. You got a name, sweetheart?" Junior asked, resting his hand on the counter seemingly at ease with the blonde-haired beauty in front of him. Yang on the other hand was not quite as composed as her outward appearance would have you believe.

 _"Sweetheart!? Oh, buddy you are gonna get it once I get what I want out of you!"_ Instead of the angered outburst Yang wanted to unleash on the bearded bar owner, the young Duelist decided to keep up her smooth persona to keep the man at ease.

"Heh, yes, Junior, I've got several" Yang cooed running her finger along the man's freshly pressed vest. Unfortunately for both Junior and her cover, the club owner's line about her being a 'sweetheart' was still rattling around in her head and that had Yang practically seeing red. "But, instead of sweetheart…" Yang purred, running her finger ever lower down the man's chest. Yang could feel her deck's downright giddy excitement at what she had planned, there was no way this wouldn't start a fight. "…You can just call me sir!" Yang demanded with a wicked grin as her hand grabbed hold of Junior's most prized possessions. The outright squawk of pain was like music to the blonde-haired beauty's ears.

 _"Alright got to work fast, time to get down to business"_ Yang thought, spotting Junior's men closing in on them from across the room. Whipping out her scroll, Yang flicked it open to the picture she had saved on it before holding it up for the whimpering club owner to see. "People say you know everything. Tell me where I can find her and I'll let you go!" Yang demanded, applying more and more pressure to her captives with each passing second. In the back of her mind Yang couldn't help but laugh at how turned around her dad's self-defence lessons had turned out. _"Well technically I am using them on a boy so I mean I get half points for it."_

"I've never seen her before! I swear!" Junior squeaked, trying his best to keep his composure while the girl in front of him applied more and more pressure.

"Excuse me!?" Yang growled back, twisting her wrist to the left and shooting Junior's pained voice up a few dozen octaves.

"I swear, sir!" Junior gasped hoping his men would get here sooner rather than later. Luckily for the captive club owner his wish was granted as his men finally rushed up to where they stood. They already had their weapons drawn and were glaring at the pair, ready to jump in at a moment's notice.

Glancing to the left at the assembled thugs, Yang decided to change tactics. If there was one thing a man prized more than the goods between their legs, it was their egos, although some would say those were one and the same. "Hmm, looks like we have a bit of an audience" Yang hummed playfully, keeping her pressure on Junior until he finally relented. He had to know something, he was her last lead and if she couldn't get anything out of him then Yang would be forced back to square one.

Seeing the thugs take a few tentative steps closer to her, Yang applied a bit more pressure to Junior earning another pained squeak from the burly man. "This must be kinda embarrassing for you, huh? Awkward…" Yang teased playfully, this whole situation was a powder keg ready to blow at any second, she needed to get what she came here for.

"Listen! Blondie, Sir!" Junior panted, trying to remain as calm as he could in front of his boys. "If you want to make it out of this club alive, I suggest you let me go. Now!" the bearded bar owner groaned, his voice a raspy mess.

 _"Looks like negotiations are over then"_ Yang sighed to herself and reluctantly released her hold on Junior's dangly bits. From the duel disk on her wrist Yang could practically hear the collective cheering coming from her deck. They had waited all night for this.

The moment Yang let go of Junior, the man let out a long gasp of relief upon finally being free of the Duelist's vicelike grip. Turning away from her, Junior began walking away towards his men, pulling out his designer shades from the inside of his vest. "You'll pay for that" the club owner grunted slipping on his glasses, if he had still been facing the daunting woman behind him he may have noticed the flash of red through her piercing lavender eyes.

"Oh, Junior, I was just playing with you, don't be so sensitive!" Yang called back to the retreating man, sliding up beside him with a sly grin across her face. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Junior's men had not taken their eyes off her. Sliding both arms behind her back to keep her wrists out of sight and to more properly display her… assets, Yang sped up to get in front of Junior.

"Come on, let's kiss and make up, ok?" Yang asked sweetly while her deck started to vibrate in her duel disk. That was the sign! It was go time and Yang's Battlin' Boxers couldn't have been happier.

"Uhhh…. Ok…" Junior muttered uncertainly, he hadn't been able to predict one thing this girl had done tonight and this was just the icing on the cake.

Leaning forward, Yang puckered her lips, inviting Junior to close the distance between them. Starting off slowly at first the man leaned in as well trying to spot if she had any further tricks up her sleeve. However, everything seemed fine to him. Her eyes were closed, he had his men surrounding him, there was a bright light emanating from behind her back… wait.

Without warning, Junior was suddenly hurled into the air by a ferocious punch that seemingly appeared out of nowhere. Spiralling across the length of his own club, the large man smashed clean through one of the glass pillars surrounding the dance floor, shattering it with a deafening crash that could still be heard over the sound of the pumping music. Landing in a heap against the bar, Junior's blurry vision could only just make out the blonde-haired duelist and her monster before an errant bottle came crashing down on his head.

"Wow, he got some distance! Nice one Counterpunch" Yang grinned, giving her monster a playful fist bump even as Junior's men closed in around them. Spinning around to face their opponents, Battlin' Boxer Counterpunch brought his crescent shaped armguard up just in time to block an incoming sword strike before firing back with a vicious left hook that wobbled the attacker. Ducking underneath her blue clad boxer's arm, Yang finished the off-balance sword wielder with a tremendous haymaker that left the club thug facedown on the dance floor.

After watching Yang and her Duel Monster dispatch both Junior and the first guard, the rest of the club goers began running for the exits. Clearly, they were the smart ones because Junior's men foolishly chose to stay behind. Whether that was out of loyalty or just plain stupidity really didn't matter, this fight was on.

"Come and get it boys!" Yang called out with arms spread wide inviting the armed guards to come at her and her monster. Rushing forward Junior's men charged both Yang and Counterpunch, armed with swords and fire axes and looking to take the pair down. Leaping forward the lead thug lashed out with an axe strike only to have it glance off Counterpunch's head protection. Firing back with his namesake, Counterpunch floored the thug with a crisp hook that left the man with a very broken jaw.

Behind the Duel Monster Yang activated her duel disk with a mischievous grin, Ember Celica extended from its bracelet form, covering both her forearms with its heavy metallic form. The device extended just in time to block and incoming sword strike from her left. Shrugging off the hit, Yang unleashed a barrage of heavy punches that left the thug utterly stunned before spinning around to avoid another axe wielder.

Blocking another attack with her right arm, Yang countered with a spinning backfist that, when paired with her heavy gauntlets sent the man crashing to the floor in a heap. No sooner had that guard slammed into the floor than two more took his place. The first thug went high going for a downward axe strike while the second attacked low with his sword looking to take the blonde brawler out at the knees. Jumping upwards with a wicked grin, Yang brought both her gauntlets up to block the first attack while simultaneously using her jump to avoid the second. Throwing the first thug off balance with her block, Yang countered with a vicious hook that sent the man reeling. While his partner was stunned from the attack, the sword wielder chose this time to attack the blonde from behind only to run face first into half of a circular shield.

"You wanted to come out and play too?" Yang teased Battlin' Boxer Veil as he spun around, clipping the dazed thug in the back of his head with the heavy shield on his muscular arm. Turning to face his Duelist the red padded boxer gave a quick nod of his head before slamming his shields together in a show of bravado and force that gave the thugs around them second thoughts. Together Yang, Veil and Counterpunch made short work of Junior's men, taking them down with a flurry of punches that left them in pained shambles on the ground.

Suddenly a barrage of bullets tore their way up the dance floor heading straight for both Yang and her Duel Monsters. Luckily for them, Veil had been prepared for such an attack and quickly leapt into action. Slamming his shielded arms together, Veil formed a large circular shield between Yang and the gunman.

"Nice one, Veil!" Yang grinned, clapping the defensive monster on the back in appreciation as bullets pinged harmlessly off his steadfast shields. Looking up into the DJ booth where the gunman was stationed Yang scowled at the bear-headed DJ. "So, you want to play rough, huh? Well two can play at that" She grinned drawing a card from the top of her deck. "Oh, this'll do. Hey Counterpunch, get over here!" Yang called to her other monster who immediately began making his way to her.

Holding up the card she had just drawn, Yang gave Veil a quick nudge to prepare him for what would come next. "I activate Rush Recklessly! Go get him Counterpunch!" Yang cheered as the boxer heading her way was suddenly engulfed in a seething red aura. Counterpunch's speed nearly doubled as the spell took effect and after using Veil's shields as a step ladder, launched himself at the gun toting DJ.

By then the DJ had finally reloaded his weapon but before he could even begin to raise it for another burst, Counterpunch's speeding fist slammed into his bear head. Spinning around Counterpunch caught the DJ with his crescent arm guard and hurled him back onto the dance floor. Slamming head first into the floor, the DJ's bear head went flying off to the side upon impact leaving the man to skid along until he came to a halt at the feet of the twins Yang had spotted earlier.

"Melanie, who is this girl?" the one in red asked walking up to the now unconscious DJ. Looking over to them, Yang's eyes narrowed as Battlin' Boxer Veil got into position to intercept anything with his shields. Counterpunch had already hopped down from the DJ's booth and was on his way back to his team.

"I don't know, Miltia, but we should teach her a lesson" the white clad twin drawled nonchalantly.

Slowly realisation dawned on Yang, she knew there was something familiar about the twins, but she was so focused on Junior that she pushed them off to the back of her mind. They were the Malachite twins! Melanie and Miltiades Malachite had torn up Vale's regional Duel circuit for years and had quite the reputation for being one of the toughest tag teams in the kingdom. However, they had gone underground some time ago without any warning, looking around Yang realised that Junior must have offered the pair quite a hefty sum to drag them out of the pro Dueling circuit.

"Ladies, take her out and you get all the vacation time you could ever want!" Junior shouted from behind the twins. He still looked wobbly and even from this distance, Yang could see the look of fear plastered all over his face, clearly, he had not expected an actual Duelist to come looking for him tonight.

"You got it boss" Miltia drawled activating the crimson duel disk on wrist.

"So, you girls actually want to do this?" Yang asked, cracking her knuckles in anticipation. She had been expecting a fight but an actual duel against two pros, well how could she say no?

"You heard the boss, all the vacation we could want" Melanie snickered, triggering her own ivory duel disk with a flourish. "Oh, sis after this let's go to Mistral, I hear it's so nice this time of year" the white clad twin grinned as both Battlin' Boxers Veil and Counterpunch returned to Yang's deck.

"Don't get cocky ladies, I can hang with just about anyone" Yang smirked at the twins who seemed far too confident for their own good. Raising her duel disk into position Yang watched her device automatically shuffle her deck for her, a fun little feature she had installed herself. "So, guess we're doing two on one, kinda seems unfair, you sure you don't want to wait for a few more guys?" Yang laughed at the unimpressed looks the twins shot her.

"Alright, alright let's get this show going!" Yang continued flashing the pair a playful wink. Closing her eyes for a moment Yang sent a charge of her Aura through Ember Celica igniting the Dust crystals within. With a blinding flash of fire, a hard-light crescent erupted from the side of Ember Celica forming a fiery corona around her arm.

"Ready? Duel!" The three Duelists shouted in unison to begin the match.

 **Yang Xiao Long: 8000LP**

 **Melanie Malachite: 4000LP**

 **Miltia Malachite: 4000LP**

"Guess I'm going first then" Yang grinned, eagerly drawing five cards from the top of her deck. One quick glance was all Yang needed to put her first play into action. "I'll begin by summoning Fire Trooper (Level 3 Fire Warrior ATK: 1000 DEF: 1000) to the field in attack mode!" Yang declared slapping her card down on the fiery surface of her duel disk. Leaping from Yang's arm in a blazing torrent, Fire Trooper's armoured form touched down on the dance floor wreathed in a sweltering inferno and grinning sadistically at Yang's adversaries.

"He might not look like much but his effect more than makes up for it" Yang explained giving her monster a quick nod. Suddenly the flames flowing around Fire Trooper exploded outwards in a blinding conflagration that the Malachite Twins had to shield their eyes from. "When Fire Trooper hits the field, I can tribute him to deal one thousand points of damage to my opponent!" Yang shouted over the roaring inferno that was once Fire Trooper. Pointing towards the red clad twin Yang gave her command. "Fire Trooper, light her up!"

Reacting to his Duelist's command, Fire Trooper's fiery form flared aggressively and launched himself towards Miltia. With little time to react, the red clad twin could only bring her arms up to shield herself from the racing flames. "Miltia!" Melanie cried out as the roaring flames engulfed her sister.

Fire Trooper's conflagration dissipated just as quickly as it formed revealing the singed twin at the center. "You're gonna… pay for that!" Miltia coughed, smoke streaming out of her open mouth in a dark plume. Looking down at her duel disk Miltia's face contorted in a scowl seeing the hit her life points had taken before her turn could even start.

 **Miltia Malachite: 3000LP**

"Maybe, but I'm gonna make you both work for it" Yang winked earning a red flush from both sisters. Grinning at her handiwork, Yang looked back to her hand, formulating her next move. _"Alright, as long as they don't one shot me on their turns I should be set."_ Looking back up to her opponents but more specifically the man behind them, Yang slapped her next card down with a mischievous grin. "I end my turn with one face-down and I'll pass things off to you ladies."

"Let me go first, sis" Miltia demanded passing her twin a quick nod that she received back immediately. Drawing a card from the top of her deck the red clad twin smirked at what she had in her hand and how foolishly Yang had been in setting up her field. It was clear that whatever that face-down card was it would keep the blonde-haired woman safe, luckily Miltia had just the play to get around it.

"I'll start by activating the effect of Lunalight Black Sheep from my hand!" Miltia declared slipping the card into her graveyard. "By sending it to the graveyard I can add a Polymerization from my deck to my hand" Miltia explained as her duel disk spat out the desired card for her.

"Next I'll summon Lunalight White Rabbit (Level 2 Dark Beast-Warrior ATK: 800 DEF: 800) to my field in attack mode!" Miltia declared calling forth her monster. The white skinned woman touched down in front of her summoner in swirl of white fabric that flowed from the large bunny-like hat she wore.

"When White Rabbit is summoned to the field I can special summon a Lunalight monster in my graveyard, so here comes Lunalight Black Sheep (Level 2 Dark Beast-Warrior ATK: 100 DEF: 600) in defense mode!" Twirling her massive hammer over her head Lunalight White Rabbit slammed it into the ground opening up a swirling portal. Leaping from this fissure Lunalight Black Sheep leapt forth bowing to his partner before both humanoids turned to face Yang.

"Not much to look at" Yang smirked at the relatively weak monsters the woman had summoned to the field.

"Who said I'm done? I activate the second effect of Lunalight White Rabbit! I can return spells and traps on your side of the field to your hand equal to the number of other Lunalights I control" Miltia informed nodding towards her hammer toting monster who eagerly slammed the instrument into the floor once more. Unlike the first time this hammer strike did not open a portal, instead it kicked up a massive burst of wind that literally blew Yang's face-down card back to her hand.

"Clever move" Yang shrugged as if she wasn't completely defenseless now.

"I'll show you clever! I activate Polymerization!" Miltia declared holding the fusion spell up where it sparked to life. Just as she brought the card down onto her duel disk, both Lunalight Black Sheep and White Rabbit leapt into the air. "Using Lunalight Black Sheep and Lunalight White Rabbit I fusion summon Lunalight Cat Dancer (Level 7 Dark Beast-Warrior ATK: 2400 DEF: 2000) to the field!" The two monsters merged together in a blinding flash of light that faded to reveal a stunning woman in a flowing dress bearing twin daggers. Like the other Lunalight monsters, Cat Dancer also wore a crescent shaped mask that covered both eyes and her flowing red hair was even longer than Yang's.

"Since Lunalight Black Sheep was used as a fusion material I can activate his effect to return another Lunalight monster from my graveyard to my hand, so I'll add back Lunalight White Rabbit" Miltia said pulling the hammer wielding monster from her graveyard. Yang couldn't help but be impressed with her move, with just two monsters Miltia wiped away her defenses and summoned a pretty powerful monster, no wonder they were both top Duelists.

"I'll follow that by equipping Lunalight Cat Dancer with the spell Vicious Claw!" Miltia exclaimed placing another spell onto her side of the field. Holding her arm into the air, Lunalight Cat Dancer winced as a metallic gauntlet latched itself to her forearm before extending three intimidating serrated claws. "As long as she's equipped with this card Cat Dancer's attack is increased by three hundred!" True to her words a dark mist began to swirl around Cat Dancer's arm and the Duel Monster felt her strength swell due to this new equipment.

 **Lunalight Cat Dancer's ATK: 2700**

"Now go Lunalight Cat Dancer, attack her directly!" Miltia commanded, pointing at Yang with a scowl. Drawing forth one of the daggers at her hips, Cat Dancer threw the harsh weapon towards her opponent with a smirk. The dagger spun through the air glancing off of Yang's shoulder eliciting a pained gasp from the Duelist before it twirled back to Miltia's monster who was charging a sphere of pure energy.

Looking down at Ember Celica's display, Yang's eyebrows knitted in confusion at the numbers being displayed to her. "What the…" she muttered unsure of what had happened.

 **Yang Xiao Long: 7900LP**

"Whenever I declare an attack with Lunalight Cat Dancer, she first deals one hundred damage to you. Now Cat Dancer, hit her with Full Moon Cresta!" Miltia shouted and her monster eagerly obliged, unleashing a blast of energy that exploded against Yang, blasting a sizable chunk out of the dance floor and sending dirt and debris everywhere.

"Amateur" Miltia scoffed at her opponent's apparent lack of skill. However, when all she got as a response was a mirthful laugh the red clad twin's smug smile quickly twisted into a disgruntled frown.

"Nice shot, but you didn't actually think I'd just leave myself unguarded?" Yang's voice emanated from the swirling smoke only to step forward with Battlin' Boxer Veil (Level 4 Fire Warrior ATK: 0 DEF: 1800) standing at her side. Leaning on her monster's shoulder Yang rapped her knuckles against the monster's thick shields, the sound echoing throughout the whole club.

"Whenever I take battle damage I can special summon Veil and regain all the life points I just lost" Yang explained while Battlin' Boxer brought his shields up as he shifted to a defensive position.

"Not bad" Melanie mused from beside her now fuming sister and drawing a card from the top of her deck to begin her turn. "However, eighteen hundred defense points won't be enough to stop us. I activate my own Polymerization!" Melanie exclaimed holding up a fusion spell of her own. "Using the Blade Skater and Etoile Cyber in my hand I Fusion Summon Cyber Blader (Level 7 Earth Warrior ATK: 2100 DEF: 800) to the field!" Melanie exclaimed.

Behind the white clad twin, her two monsters appeared side by side before leaping into the air. Meeting together the two monsters combined in a flash of light and in their place now stood a towering figure. This new arrival's navy hair flowed down past her knees, her red visor reflected the spinning lights shining down from above and the razor-sharp skates on her feet glinted dangerously as they dug into the hard dance floor.

"Go Cyber Blader destroy Battlin' Boxer Veil!" Upon her summoner's command, Cyber Blader lunged forward in a blur. Skating across the dance floor, the lithe warrior closed in on her target with a stunning pirouette before lashing out with a bladed kick that cut clean through Veil's shields and into the monster behind them. Stumbling backwards, Battlin' Boxer Veil's arms went limp at his sides before he came apart at the waist. The bifurcated boxer quickly dissolved into a mass of crimson light just as Cyber Blader leisurely skated back to Melanie's side where she waited for Yang's retaliation.

"Defenceless again it seems" Melanie smirked before plucking a fresh card from her hand. "I'll end my turn with a face-down, your move blondie" Melanie said placing the card into her duel disk which appeared behind Cyber Blader. The skillful monster had now taken to performing a relaxed figure eight as if just to taunt Yang.

"Heh, you think I'm defenceless, that's cute" Yang chuckled drawing a fresh card from her deck. Taking a quick look at her newest resource had Yang's eyes were alight with possibilities. "Never count out a Xiao Long, I normal summon Battlin' Boxer Switchitter! (Level 4 Fire Warrior ATK: 1500 DEF: 1400)

Emerging from a burst of roaring fire Switchitter leapt from Yang's duel disk. Taking up position beside his summoner, the white hooded boxer unleashed a flurry of jabs towards their opponents, his hands a blur of fiery motion. "And he's not alone because when I summon Switchitter to the field I can revive a Battlin' Boxer from my graveyard at the same time so come on back Battlin' Boxer Veil!" Slamming his gloved fists together, Switchitter formed an intense sphere of heat that Veil emerged from, forming up alongside his comrade.

"Now that I have two level four monsters on my field I can build the overlay network!" Yang exclaimed holding her duel disk into the air. The fiery corona that made up her dueling surface erupted into a torrent of fire that formed a swirling vortex above the assembled duelists. Both Battlin' Boxers Veil and Switchitter reformed into concentrated crimson energy that raced upwards into the swirling conflagration. "By overlaying Battlin' Boxers Veil and Switchitter I Xyz Summon Battlin' Boxer Lead Yoke (Rank 4 Fire Warrior ATK: 2200 DEF: 2000) to the field in attack mode!" Yang's declaration came with a thunderous crash that shook the entire club as her monster slammed down into the glass floor, sending shards and shrapnel in all directions.

Battlin' Boxer Lead Yoke towered over his predecessors, a hulking mass of muscle and ferocity bound in heavy iron chains and restrained by a thick wooden yoke that was clasped around his right arm and neck. Letting loose and earth shattering roar Lead Yoke leveled his fiery red eyes upon the Malachite Twins and their monsters.

"Alright let's knock their socks off Lead Yoke! Attack Cyber Blader with Burning Knuckle!" Yang exclaimed thrusting her fist towards Melanie's Fusion Monster. With another tremendous roar the hulking pugilist rushed forward, his left arm ablaze with crimson fire. Melanie's Cyber Blader barely had enough time to raise her guard before the titanic punch connected sparking a massive explosion that nearly engulfed half the dance floor.

"Yeah! Nice hit buddy!" Yang grinned, giving her restrained Xyz Monster a fist bump as he took his place at her side once more.

"Don't think you're done with me just yet" came Melanie's distinct accent from behind the curtain of raging fire left in Lead Yoke's wake. Suddenly the flames began to spin around into a swirling tornado until they dispersed and in their place stood Cyber Blader, bruised and singed but very much still in this game.

"Like I said, not done yet" Melanie smirked while Cyber Blader brushed herself off. "My Cyber Blader's effects unlock depending on how many monsters you control, since you only have one she can't be destroyed in battle" the white clad twin explained as she and her monster stood ready for their counterattack.

"Yeah, but you still take the damage" Yang smirked giving her opponent a playful wink. True enough, though it was minimalistic Melanie had indeed taken her first bit of damage that game.

 **Melanie Malachite: 3900LP**

"Guess we got nothing better to do, I set one card face-down and end my turn, take it away red" Yang grinned, inserting a card into the spell and trap receiver on her duel disk.

Turning her attention onto Miltia, Yang gave the red twin a playful smirk that somehow managed to put the girl on edge. She had watched that entire confrontation between her sister and the blonde-haired Duelist in anticipation. There was more to this girl than just long hair, big boobs and bad jokes… this one was dangerous.

"My move!" Miltia said, drawing a fresh card from her duel disk to signal the beginning of her turn. Passing a quick glance at her hand, Miltia's lips turned up at her lack of options. Seemingly without any better options, Miltia sighed before signalling to get Lunalight Cat Dancer's attention. "Cat Dancer attack that fugly thing with Full Moon Cresta!" Just as before Lunalight Cat Dancer reached behind her back to produce one of her daggers before hurling it in a curve towards Yang. Ready for the Fusion Monster's effect this time, Yang brought Ember Celica up to block the blade but still felt it chip away at her Aura and Life Points, much to Lead Yoke's fury.

 **Yang Xiao Long: 7800LP**

Using the small effect damage as a distraction to close distance, Lunalight Cat Dancer leapt into the air before unleashing another blinding burst of silver energy towards Lead Yoke, who intuitively brought his guard up against the incoming blast. Cat Dancer's attack slammed into Lead Yoke with tremendous force driving the hulking boxer back, however no matter how much power Cat Dancer put into the attack, Lead Yoke stood his ground.

"It's gonna take a whole lot more than that to bring down Lead Yoke, ladies" Yang smirked leaning against her monster's side. "But got to thank you for triggering his effect" Yang remarked slyly before a deafening crack rang out through the club. Turning their attention back to Lead Yoke, both Malachite Sisters' eyes widened in shock as one of the Xyz Monster's overlay units disappeared into the bindings holding his head in place.

"Whenever Lead Yoke's going to be destroyed I can detach one of his Xyz Materials to negate his destruction…" Suddenly with an earth shattering roar the bindings holding Lead Yoke's head in place splintered and burst forth sending shrapnel towards Miltia and Melanie, luckily for the pair, their Duel Monsters were able to quickly step in and protect them. "Also, whenever Lead Yoke loses an Xyz material his attack goes up by eight hundred" With another loud shout Lead Yoke's muscles seemed to bulge significantly now that he was, at least partially, free from his restraints.

 **Battlin' Boxer Lead Yoke's ATK: 3000**

"Whatever, I still did some damage to you" Miltia fired back, gritting her teeth at the blonde's Xyz Monster.

 **Yang Xiao Long: 7300LP**

"You sure did, thanks for reminding me!" Yang laughed, thrusting her hand into the air. "Looks like you just activated my trap card! Go Attack and Receive!" Upon the Yang's declaration, her set card flipped over to reveal itself forming a sphere of fierce scarlet energy. "Whenever I take damage I can activate this card and dish back seven hundred!" Yang grinned before pointing straight at Miltia. "Fire away!" Yang commanded with glee as the sphere of energy shot forward blasting the red clad duelist back. Luckily for her, Cat Dancer was ready and caught her before she hit the ground, the Fusion Monster's normally mischievous grin turned into an angered scowl at the attack on her summoner.

 **Miltia Malachite: 2300LP**

Getting back to her feet slowly with the help of her monster, Miltia grimaced at the heavy shot to her Aura and Life Points. This latest attack only confirmed her earlier suspicions, whoever this Blondie was, she was extremely dangerous. She willingly let herself be attacked twice now and both times she only came back stronger than before and set herself into a better position. "I set a face-down… Your move sis" Miltia muttered, placing a new card onto the field and giving her sister a quick nod. The brief eye contact the pair shared told each other everything they needed to know, they needed to turn this duel around and soon.

Drawing a card from her deck to start her turn Melanie cocked her hip the side as she weighed her options. With no other choices available to her she silently set the card she drew face-down into her duel disk before waving for Yang to begin her turn.

"Really? Set one and pass? Kinda disappointing but that's the luck of the draw I guess" Yang shrugged, drawing a card from her own deck and leaving a trail of fire in her wake. "Nice, alright let's get to work Lead Yoke" Yang grinned turning her attention back to Miltia and her Lunalight Cat Dancer.

"Think again, I activate Taunt!" Melanie shouted, triggering the card she had just set on her prior turn. The trap in question flipped itself over before dissolving into a mist that enshrouded Melanie's Cyber Blader, who casually raised her arm to beckon Lead Yoke to come at her. "During the turn I activate Taunt your monsters can only attack my Cyber Blader" Melanie explained, getting a surprised look from Yang before it passed, turning into a knowing smile.

"So, putting yourself on the line to protect your sis? You know, I can dig that" Yang's smile this time was not the cocksure arrogance the twins were now used to but instead something far warmer and more sincere, something they weren't expecting from the blonde bruiser. Turning to give Lead Yoke a look, Yang nodded towards the waiting Cyber Blader, her mischievous smirk returned for the time being. "I mean, it would be rude not to, right?" She asked, getting a low grumble from the hulking boxer in return. "Alright, go get her!" Yang chuckled and without a moment's hesitation the battle-hardened boxer charged forward in a burst of raw power.

"You must be like really dumb if you think I didn't plan for that. Go Half Counter!" Melanie exclaimed revealing her second face-down card. "Half Counter boosts my Cyber Blader by half of your Lead Yoke's original attack" the white clad twin smirked as her trap leached the excess energy flowing off of Battlin' Boxer Lead Yoke and enshrouded her Cyber Blader in a blinding aura of blue light.

"What? Couldn't afford a full counter?" Yang teased as her monster continued his charge.

 **Cyber Blader's ATK: 3200**

Continuing with his ferocious charge Lead Yoke unleashed a brutal flaming punch towards the visor wearing skater, who only smirked as his monstrous fist closed in on her. Fueled by her summoner's support, Cyber Blader effortlessly ducked under the massive punch and struck back with a precision counter kick that caught Lead Yoke square in the face, opening a gash along the hulking boxer's chiselled jaw… and breaking the final shackle keeping his power in check.

The triumphant look on Cyber Blader's face was quickly wiped away as Lead Yoke's full strength was unleashed. Roaring at the top of his lungs and now completely free from his restraints, Lead Yoke's muscle's bulged outwards dangerously and a swirling aura of crimson power enshrouded the enraged Duel Monster. Both Cyber Blader and Cat Dancer moved into defensive positions to protect their Duelists from the swirling power and flying glass kicked up from the dancefloor.

Standing proud behind her enraged pugilist, Yang couldn't hide the Cheshire grin spreading across her face as her monster reached his full power. Lead Yoke perfectly exemplified not only the overall theme of her deck but also her views on life. It didn't matter how often you get knocked down, you just have to pick yourself back up and become stronger from the experience. Glancing down at her life points, Yang couldn't care less how much of a hit they took, Lead Yoke was now at full power and there was little else that mattered.

 **Yang Xiao Long: 7100LP**

 **Battlin' Boxer Lead Yoke's ATK: 3800**

Taking a thunderous step forward, Lead Yoke's shining crimson eyes flashed dangerously from behind the iron mask encasing his head. Seeing her Xyz Monster's willingness to continue, Yang quickly moved up beside the enraged boxer and placed a placating hand on the towering figure's arm.

"Easy there, big guy. You already got your chance to attack, they're up next" Yang said calmly, trying to sooth her Battlin' Boxer's raging fury, or at the very least temper it... for the moment. Turning her attention back to her opponents, Yang smirked at the pair of disgruntled looks they were giving her. It was clear they had not expected such resistance from the buxom blonde and it was beginning to show on their worried faces.

"Well ladies you've done a good job so far but Lead Yoke's just itching for a fight now so I'd be careful if I were you" Yang commented slyly. Taking a fresh card from her hand Yang quickly placed it on the fiery surface of her duel disk which flared in response to the action. "Since I still haven't normal summoned this turn I think I'll do so right now. I call forth Battlin' Boxer Headgeared (Level 4 Fire Warrior ATK: 1000 DEF: 1800) to the field in attack position!" Yang's declaration came with it yet another fiery explosion. And from those swirling flames emerged her monster. Clad in little more than a black pair of training shorts and crimson training helmet, the ebony skinned boxer unleashed a fury of punches before taking his position beside Lead Yoke.

"Great thing about Headgeared is that when he's normal summoned to the field I can send one Battlin' Boxer monster from my deck to the graveyard" Yang explained as her duel disk ejected a card for her that she eagerly sent to the graveyard. Across from the cocksure blonde both Melanie and Miltia grimaced at this latest play, no Duelist would send a monster straight to the graveyard for no reason, clearly Yang was setting up for her next turn in some way.

It was then that the twins noticed the blinding light emanating from the area on Ember Celica that served as Yang's graveyard. Picking up on the twin's shared apprehension, Yang decided to simply go ahead and explain to move her own turn along. "Since the monster I sent to the grave was Battlin' Boxer Glassjaw, his effect activates and allows me to add back another Battlin' Boxer from the grave to my hand" Yang smirked as she retrieved one of her fallen monsters.

"Well guess that's it for me, take it away Red!" Yang grinned once more inviting her opponents to come at her with everything they had. The tremendous crash of Lead Yoke's enlarged fists slamming together echoed his summoner's sentiments.

Drawing a card from her deck to signal the beginning of her turn, Miltia grimaced at the lack of opportunities it presented her with but also at her prospects. While Yang hadn't set any spells or traps face-down she did leave a relatively weak Headgeared seemingly unprotected. Past experience in this Duel had shown her what walking into one of Xiao Long's wide-open fields could net her and this was no different. However, there wasn't much else to do, as risky as going on the offensive was, playing defensively against the explosive Duelist could be disastrous.

"Lunalight Cat Dancer, attack Headgeared with Full Moon Cresta!" Miltia commanded and just as before Cat Dancer obeyed with a mischievous smile on her stunning features. Leaping into the air Cat Dancer arced one of her daggers just over Lead Yoke's shoulder where it just glanced off the blonde's thigh much to her monster's outrage.

 **Yang Xiao Long: 7000LP**

Using the cover of her effect, Cat Dancer unleashed a fully charged blast of silver energy straight towards the distracted helmeted boxer. Quickly raising his guard at the last moment, Headgeared took the full brunt of Cat Dancer's attack head on, kicking up a massive explosion of glass and metal. Cat Dancer expertly touched down beside her summoner with the grace of her namesake, and a serene smile at yet another of the blonde Duelist's vanquished monsters.

That smile quickly changed to utter shock as the smoke and debris cleared to reveal Battlin' Boxer Headgeared, singed and heavily bruised but still very much alive. "How is he still alive?!" Miltia exclaimed as Headgeared worked the kinks out of his neck and gave his arms a good shake.

"Simple, Headgeared has more than one effect. When I summon him, he allows me to send a monster to the graveyard but he also has the effect that while he's on the field in attack mode he can't be destroyed by battle once per turn" Yang explained smugly despite the hit to her life points.

 **Yang Xiao Long: 5300LP**

Gritting her teeth together, Miltia waved off the last of her turn now that her attack had been concluded. She had managed to chip away a decent chunk of the blonde's life points and that would just have to be enough. She could only hope that her sister could succeed where she had come up short.

Melanie on the other hand had been watching her sister's turn play out with baited breath. In a way she was glad that her sister's attack had ultimately failed, since Headgeared had survived her sister's attack that meant that Yang's field still contained two monsters and so unlocked her own monster's second effect.

Drawing a new card from the top of her deck Melanie's eyes lit up at the possibilities and immediately put her play into action. "I activate Forbidden Chalice!" The white clad twin exclaimed, activating the quick-play spell with a quick flick of her wrist. Before Yang even had the chance to ask what this newest card did she was cut off by the enrage howl of Battlin' Boxer Lead Yoke as an ornate silver chalice poured a seething clear liquid over his brow. Thrashing about violently, Lead Yoke scratched and tore at the places where the strange liquid came into contact with his muscled flesh.

"What are you doing to him?!" Yang hissed in barely contained rage as her monster continued to wither under the effects of the twin's spell.

"Forbidden Chalice is a spell that increases the attack of a monster on the field by four-hundred..." Melanie explained over the howls of Yang's monster. Yang just looked on in confusion as her monster continued to roar, if this spell increased his power why would it cause him to scream like this? The answer to that question came from the white clad twin with a soft chuckle. "Forbidden Chalice also negates the effects of the monster targeted" Melanie explained much to Yang's shock. With his effects negated, the four hundred point increase didn't matter because Lead Yoke would lose the sixteen hundred he gained through his effect.

 **Battlin' Boxer Lead Yoke's ATK: 2600**

"Cyber Blader, finish him off" Melanie commanded and her visor wearing warrior nodded in excitement dashing forward to attack the hulking boxer.

"But Lead Yoke's still stronger?" Yang gasped, unable to understand the reason for the seemingly fruitless attack.

"Think again, remember my Cyber Blader gains effects depending on the number of monsters you control. When you have one she can't be destroyed by battle but when there's two... her attack is doubled" Melanie grinned as her Cyber Blader closed in on the now vulnerable boxer.

 **Cyber Blader's ATK: 4200**

Performing a masterful butterfly jump, Cyber Blader lashed out at Lead Yoke with a furious bladed kick. The impact of the Fusion Monster's attack kicked up a fierce shockwave that forced even Yang to raise her guard against. Landing with just as much grace as her initial jump, Cyber Blader touched down on the shattered dance floor just moments before Lead Yoke's head, which slammed against the floor with a dull thud. The now headless behemoth teetered for a few seconds before dissolving away into nothingness leaving Yang behind to take the first real hit to her life points and Aura during this match.

 **Yang Xiao Long: 3700LP**

Snapping her head up to glare at the twins, Yang could feel her own rage bubbling just under the surface, waiting to be unleashed. "You did good, Lead Yoke" Yang muttered as she slid her defeated Xyz Monster into the graveyard. Glancing down at her hand she could see the small tongues of flame arcing from her skin, her semblance had begun to kick in energizing not only her but also her deck. She could feel them calling out for vengeance and she'd be damned if she didn't give them what they wanted.

Staring down Melanie and her Cyber Blader, Yang knew that if she was going to win this then the white clad twin had to fall first. And since she now only controlled one monster Cyber Blader's immense attack reverted back to its original value, but that also meant she gained battle immunity. That mattered very little though as Yang had ways of getting around even the hardiest of defensive lines.

 **Cyber Blader's ATK: 2100**

Closing her eyes as she focused on her deck, Yang felt her Aura pulse in sync with her deck, the small tongues of flames simmering across the surface of her skin ignited into a flaring inferno as she drew the top card of her deck. Wreathed in the flames of her own semblance Yang called upon the monster she had brought back from the graveyard on her previous turn. "I normal summon Battlin' Boxer Switchitter!" Once more the white hooded cybernetic boxer leapt from the swirling flames wreathed around his summoner, this time however his once golden eyes were now a deep crimson, matching Yang's own.

"Since Switchitter was summoned to the field he revives another Battlin' Boxer, so come back Battlin' Boxer Glassjaw! (Level 4 Fire Warrior ATK: 2000 DEF: 0)" Emerging from the sphere of fire generated from Switchitter was a beastly green giant of pure muscle. Letting out an enraged roar Glassjaw slammed his fists together in a rage and his eyes flashed from purple to red, his gaze never wavering from his opponents.

"Now using Battlin' Boxers Glassjaw, Headgeared and Switchitter I build the overlay network!" Yang shouted as the flames of her semblance roared upwards before swirling into a fiery vortex. Yang's assembled monsters condensed into blinding red energy that raced upwards into the vortex which began to swell upon the sudden influx of power. "Prize fighter from beyond the stars, come forth and unleash your fiery might! Light 'em up Number 105: Battlin' Boxer Star Cestus! (Rank 4 Fire Warrior ATK: 2500 DEF: 1600)" Upon Yang's declaration the swirling mass of fire exploded outward in a blinding flash and a flaming mass rocketed down to the dance floor.

Slamming into the already shattered glass and metal floor with a tremendous crash, the figure, cloaked in fire, stepped out of the crater it formed from the impact. Standing almost a full head taller than Lead Yolk, Number 105: Battlin' Boxer Star Cestus cast an intimidating shadow upon the ruined dancefloor. Cloaked in metallic armour of navy and yellow the towering figure unleashed a lightning fast combo to test his own power, it had been so long since Yang faced anyone worthy of fighting him after all. While Lead Yoke may have represented the raw power and ferocity of her deck, Star Cestus was the clean precision of a professional boxer.

"An over one hundred monster!" Miltia gasped, looking upon the armoured warrior in bewilderment. It was common knowledge that there were supposed to be only one hundred Number monsters created. However, what most did not know was that there were seven over one hundred Xyz Monsters that had been unleashed across Remnant. Completely unique with only one copy of each in existence, these cards were only gifted to a select few. Apparently, the brash blonde across from the twins was one of those select Duelists.

"You haven't seen anything yet! Now I activate Xyz Treasure Ticket!" Yang declared holding up the card she had just pulled during her draw phase. "With this I can target a Rank 4 or lower Xyz monster and draw cards from my deck equal to his Rank!" Yang declared as a blinding golden light was released from the card and raced to the deck on her wrist.

"But that's four cards!" Miltia exclaimed in utter disbelief.

"Oh, good you can count" Yang grinned as her deck released four new cards that she was more than eager to snatch up, bringing her hand total to six.

"I'll start things off with Tremendous Fire!" Yang shouted, holding up yet another spell card. Unlike the previous one, instead of a golden light, a raging inferno erupted from the card engulfing the blonde-haired Duelist. For a moment both sisters looked on in confusion as to why Yang was seemingly harming herself until the swirling inferno raced forward as if it had a mind of its own. Realising all too late what the conflagration was doing, Miltia was ill prepared for when the roaring inferno engulfed her.

"Miltia!" Melanie cried out as the red clad enforcer's aura strained under the ungodly heat. While already somewhat worn down from the duel her Aura still tried desperately to repel the damage as the fire swirled around her. Finally, when it seemed like she couldn't hold on any longer the spell generated inferno exploded outwards revealing a panting and heavily burnt Malachite sister.

"Wow, you actually stood up to that, I'm impressed" Yang chuckled from across the dance floor, leaned up against the side of Star Cestus. Noticing the enraged looks of her opponents, Yang flashed them the spell she had just activated with a confident smirk. "Tremendous Fire, a personal favourite of mine, deals five hundred damage to me, but one thousand to you" her grin spread at the shocked look on their faces, few duelists were willing to deal damage to themselves just to bring down their opponents, but for Yang that was the core of her playstyle.

 **Yang Xiao Long: 3200LP**

 **Miltia Malachite: 1300LP**

Without waiting for her opponents to respond Yang revealed yet another spell card, this one she secured into the side of her duel disk. "I activate the equip spell Salamandra!" Yang declared holding her duel disk into the air where yet another jet of fire erupted from the device. This time however, the roaring fire snaked upwards before forming a fiery dragon that raced towards Number 105: Battlin' Boxer Star Cestus, enshrouding the armoured warrior in a blazing inferno.

"Salamandra is an equip spell that boosts the attack of a Fire monster by seven hundred points" Yang explained as the fires surrounding Star Cestus flared in response to her. "But I'm not done there, I also activate the spell Berserk Scales!" Yang declared holding up yet another spell she had drawn thanks to Xyz Treasure Ticket.

This time a blood red mist flowed from the revealed card before creeping up Star Cestus' armoured body. In a matter of seconds, the menacing Xyz Monster's already well toned muscles expanded in size and he let out a spine-tingling roar that seemed to shake the entire club. "Berserk Scales increases a monster's attack by one thousand but prevents that monster from attacking directly that turn" Yang grinned as Star Cestus once more slammed his fist together in anticipation.

 **Number 105: Battlin' Boxer Star Cestus' ATK: 4200**

"Alright Star Cestus, attack Cyber Blader with Blazing Knuckle!" Yang commanded thrusting her own fist towards Cyber Blader, who immediately dropped into a defensive stance. The fires of Salamandra roared to life and encased Star Cestus' hand forming the head of a fiery dragon while the mist like effects of Berserk Scales nearly doubled the size of the pugilist's already impressive musculature.

"Idiot, your monster may be strong but mine still can't be destroyed by battle, so long as you control one card!" Melanie exclaimed. She would still take significant damage but her monster would survive setting herself up for her counter attack next turn.

"Oh, that's right I almost forgot" Yang laughed slapping herself on the forehead playfully. "Guess I better activate Number 105's effect then, go Perfect Counter!" Upon Yang's declaration one of the three overlay units orbiting around Star Cestus darted towards the powerful Xyz Monster, disappearing into his armoured chest. A sudden burst of flame erupted from Star Cestus which quickly swept over Cyber Blader, leaving the stunning Fusion Monster scorched all over her elegant body.

Dashing forward Star Cestus closed the distance between himself and Cyber Blader in the blink of an eye. Now almost eye to visor with his fusion adversary Star Cestus unleashed a furious barrage of punches with terrifying accuracy and brutality. Each impacted generated a small explosion as the armoured warrior's knuckles pummelled Cyber Blader until Star Cestus reared back and unleashed a devastating haymaker that punched a hole clean through the red-haired warrior.

"But how!?" Melanie stammered in disbelief as her monster faded from existence before her very eyes.

"Perfect Counter" Yang grinned as Star Cestus turned his back on the defeated skater as her body dissolved into nothingness. "When Star Cestus battles I can detach an Xyz material and negate the effects of his opponent" Yang shrugged at the shocked look on Melanie's face as she picked herself off the ground, the force of Star Cestus' assault having slammed her to the ground.

 **Melanie Malachite: 1800LP**

Slowly staggering to her feet, Melanie brought her duel disk to bare, ready to begin her own turn and get back at her blonde-haired opponent. However, the white clad enforcer's thoughts of vengeance were cut off by a blinding circle of light appearing underneath her. Staring in shock at the intense light, Melanie's head whipped up to look directly at a smirking Yang who had one more spell card in her hand, which was giving off the same glow as the light at her feet.

"Flaming Knockout, a quick-play spell that activates only after one of my Battlin' Boxer's destroys a monster of yours, it takes your monster's attack and dishes it back to you as damage" Yang's grin only grew wider as the realisation sunk into both twins. "Adios" Yang said, giving Melanie a quick two finger solute as the light at her feet reached critical mass.

"Sis!" Miltia cried out just as the intense light exploded in a ball of fire and force. With only a fraction of a second to react, Melanie had almost no time to prepare herself or her aura and so the force of Flaming Knockout propelled the startled enforcer back with vicious force, slamming her clean through one of the glass pillars scattered around the dancefloor, littering the already cluttered floor with tiny shards of glass.

 **Melanie Malachite: 0LP**

The smug grin on Yang's face slipped away upon seeing the damage she had caused. The buxom brawler hadn't expected the blast to be as forceful as it was, nor had she expected the Malachite sister to be thrown back so violently by the surprise attack. Sharing a glance with Number 105, the pair gave a silent nod to each other just as Miltia snapped her head away from the unconscious form of her sister to the pair.

"End your damn turn so I can end you!" she snarled, preparing to draw a card to begin her turn. There was a fire in the red clad sister's emerald eyes that even Yang was surprised by. The bond between the two sisters seemed to run incredibly deep, something Yang could more than appreciate.

"Alright, I set one card face-down and end my turn" Yang sighed, placing one more card down before glancing up at Star Cestus who let out a pained groan as the red mist of Berserk Scales faded away. "During the end phase Berserk Scales wears off and reduces the attack of the monster effected by it by two thousand" Yang explained as Number 105 fell to a knee, his strength seemingly stripped from him by his summoner's spell.

 **Number 105: Battlin' Boxer Star Cestus' ATK: 1200**

The scowl on Miltia's face only deepened as she looked at the weakened pugilist before her. Star Cestus' chest was heaving heavily from the exertion Berserk Scales seemed to had taken on his body. The spell may have given him a quick boost of power but the after effects seemed to have left the powerful Xyz Monster with nothing left to fight back with.

"Look at what you did to Star Cestus!" Miltia shouted as she drew the top card of her deck to start her turn. "You're going to pay for what you've done to my sister and your Monster" Miltia growled and getting a nod of affirmation from Lunalight Cat Dancer at her side. The whole time Yang merely stood there, silently watching her opponent as small tongues of flame continued to rise from her body. This ferocity was unexpected but in a way, it gave Yang a new bit of respect for the enraged Malachite though it hardly mattered, this game was already over.

"I activate Twin Twister!" Miltia exclaimed slamming down the quick-play spell onto her duel disk. "By discarding a card from my hand, I can destroy up two spells or traps on the field, so I send Lunalight White Rabbit from my hand to destroy Salamandra and your face-down!" Just as the red clad enforcer slid the cost for Twin Twister into her duel disk's graveyard a pair of howling cyclones erupted from the card's surface enveloping both Yang's equip spell and her face-down, blowing them away into nothingness.

Keeping her look of resolve despite this apparent setback, Yang slipped both cards into her own graveyard without a word. Keeping an eye on her lone and now seemingly defenseless monster, Yang could only watch as the flames of Salamandra disappeared weakening Star Cestus even further.

 **Number 105: Battlin' Boxer Star Cestus' ATK: 500**

"Now I normal summon Lunalight Blue Cat (Level 4 Dark Beast-Warrior ATK: 1600 DEF: 1200) in attack position!" Miltia exclaimed as her blue cat warrior leapt from the surface of her card. Touching down the masked feline woman's claws extended outwards towards the weakened boxer who barely raised his head in acknowledgement.

"Next I activate Fusion Substitute!" Miltia exclaimed, holding up a new spell that unleashed a swirling vortex that began to draw in both Cat Dancer and Blue Cat. "I can use this card to fusion summon any monster, using monsters on the field as material" Miltia shouted over the roar of the vortex raging just over her head.

The two forms of Lunalights Cat Dancer and Blue Cat were finally drawn into the swirling vortex generated from Fusion Substitute where it flashed dangerously before condensing in on itself. Rising above the Duelists' heads the swirling vortex continued to condense in on itself until it was a single shining point of light. Graceful hunter, I call upon you to hunt down my enemies, I summon Lunalight Panther Dancer! (Level 8 Dark Beast-Warrior ATK: 2800 DEF: 2500)

Upon Miltia's command, the single shining point expanded into a bright orb that cast down a beam of moonlight searing everything it touched. From within this shining light a figure began to materialize, starting as a vague shadow before solidifying into a more tangible form.

While Cat Dancer represented beauty and grace, Lunalight Panther Dancer was pure predatory nature. Her long dress flowed across her body revealing just enough of her mocha skin to entice those that would look upon her and keep their eyes off the razor-sharp blades clasped to each arm. Lunalight Panther Dancer let out a shrill cry, extending her blade like claws in a show of force that actually managed to catch Number 105's attention, unlike her Blue Cat predecessor.

Taking the last card in her hand, Miltia slammed it into her duel disk with a snarl. "I activate the spell Luna Light Perfume, which allows me to revive one of my Lunalight monsters, so come back Lunalight Blue Cat!" Miltia exclaimed, as a bottle of dark purple liquid appeared before her. From the top of the bottle a thick purple mist began to spew forth into a dense cloud and from within that cloud the form of Blue Cat materialized slowly before them, taking up position beside Panther Dancer.

"When Lunalight Blue Cat is special summoned to the field I can target one Lunalight monster I control and double its attack, so I choose Panther Dancer!" Miltia commanded, pointing towards the towering fusion monster. In response Blue Cat clapped her clawed hands together, forming yet another sphere of concentrated moonlight that she promptly hurled towards her counterpart. The orb of light infused itself into Panther Dancer's dark skin and a seductive smirk spread across her face from under her dark green bangs. Suddenly the fierce warrior let out a ferocious roar as her entire body was enshrouded in a dark aura.

 **Lunalight Panther Dancer's ATK: 5600**

"Go Panther Dancer, attack Star Cestus and end her!" Miltia shouted her face contorted in anger. She needed to end this duel as quickly as possible, Melanie still hadn't woken up and with every second that ticked by Miltia's anxiety over her wellbeing grew exponentially. "Attack with Claws of Bast!" Miltia exclaimed and Panther Dancer immediately obeyed, leaping onto the rotating light system just over their heads.

"Hey, Star Cestus..." Yang muttered, getting her monster's complete attention despite the enemy preparing to attack him. "... Go easy on her ok, we kinda over did it with her sister" Yang sighed getting a silent nod from the armoured boxer in return.

Looking up towards Panther Dancer still hanging from the lighting system, Number 105: Battlin' Boxer Star Cestus slowly rose to his feet to face his adversary. With a menacing growl the panther woman extended her claws to nearly twice their length before leaping towards her prey at an unbelievable speed. If this attack connected then not only would Star Cestus be utterly destroyed by the sheer force of the attack but Yang would lose the duel, her own life points being far too low to withstand the difference in attack values.

"Perfect Counter" Yang muttered and once more one of the overlay units orbiting Star Cestus disappeared into the center of his chest in a flash. Just as before, the flames of Perfect Counter rose up but instead of racing forward formed a barrier around Number 105 surrounding him just in time, as Panther Dancer's sword like claws slashed into the solid wall of fire and energy.

"What!?" Miltia exclaimed in disbelief. "How did you stop my attack? Perfect Counter's only suppose to negate my monster's effect?" Miltia demanded as Panther Dancer swiped furiously away at the fiery shield surrounding her Xyz prey.

"You never asked if Perfect Counter did anything else" Yang replied as the sphere of surrounding Star Cestus grew brighter and brighter. "First it negates the effects of my opponent's monster, second it makes Star Cestus immune to being destroyed by battle and third..." suddenly the sphere of energy burst outward, knocking Panther Dancer to the ground to reveal Star Cestus with one arm cocked back. "... You take any damage that I would have from that battle" Yang said and with a snap of her fingers Star Cestus punched forward unleashing all fifty-one hundred points of damage Yang would have taken and throwing it right back Miltia.

Letting her duel disk fall to her side, Miltia could only look on in utter shock at what had happened. It all made sense now, Yang had used Berserk Scales for the express purpose of lowering Star Cestus' own power so that she could maximize the effectiveness of his effect and she had fallen for it, just like every other play the blond brawler had made that game.

Leaping to try and intercept the blast, Panther Dancer let out a cry of worry as it raced past her in a flash. Try as she might, the agile warrior was simply in no position to intercept the blast that impacted just at Miltia's feet. Though it didn't hit her directly, the blast still had enough force behind it to knock the red clad enforcer into the air where she landed heavily on her side, dislocating her shoulder as her aura finally gave out.

 **Miltia Malachite: 0LP**

 **Yang Xiao Long is Victorious**

Without her summoner's aura to sustain her, Lunalight Panther Dancer slowly began to fade away. Placing herself between Yang and her Xyz warrior and her own summoner, Panther Dancer let out a menacing growl as the pair approached the injured sisters. The distrustful glare of the dark-haired warrior slipped away as Star Cestus brought his hand up, offering it to the feline warrior. After a brief moment and a reassuring nod from Star Cestus, Panther Dancer reached out grasping the other duel monster's proffered hand before finally fading away.

"Ugh... sis..." Miltia groaned, holding her arm in a pained grimace. It wasn't until a shadow loomed over her that she cracked an eye open to get an eyeful of a mane of golden locks.

"Hey take it easy, I'm sorry we went so hard there" Yang apologized as she checked Miltia's arm. After a few seconds of poking and prodding Yang leveled her gaze with the red clad enforcer. "I want you to focus your Aura on your arm ok, this is gonna hurt like hell" Yang stated, placing a calming hand on her forearm.

Nodding quickly, Miltia closed her eyes in preparation for what was coming, Yang could already see the crimson lines of her Aura shifting towards her shoulder and without a moment's warning thrust the twin's shoulder back into place with an audible pop. To the woman's credit apart from a pained groan she held on admirably as Yang forced her arm back into position.

"You're gonna wanna put some ice on that when you get the chance" Yang said Just as Star Cestus crouched down to set the still unconscious Melanie beside her sister. Noticing the worried look she gave her twin, Yang placed a reassuring hand on Miltia's newly realigned shoulder. "She's gonna be ok, her Aura blocked most of the glass and metal, she's probably gonna wake up with one hell of a headache though so make sure she gets plenty of water" Yang stated, double checking to make sure Melanie was also ok.

Standing back up, she flashed the still conscious twin a bright smile, her lavender eyes once more alight with that mischievous twinkle. "Great game ladies, we got to do this again some time, now if you'll excuse me I need to go have a chat with your boss" Yang grinned as she cracked her head from side to side before glaring up at the top of the stairs where Junior was now in full retreat, making a mad dash for the door.

"Come on Star Cestus. let's see what he knows" Yang's devious smirk was back in place as both she and her Xyz Monster took off after the fleeing bar owner. Clearing the stairs two at a time Yang reached the double doors that lead to the entrance to the club. When the doors refused to open, Star Cestus lunged forward slamming his armoured shoulder into the heavy doors.

With a thunderous crash, both doors toppled to the ground in a shower of steel and fiber glass, as both duelist and monster sprinted down the now deserted hallway leading to the entrance. Slamming her own shoulder into the club's doors, Yang was blasted by the cold night air of downtown Vale. Looking around Yang tried to spot her quarry only to find the entire street deserted.

"Where the hell did he..." Yang was suddenly cut off by a loud screech as a dark van skidded around the side of the building before taking off down the street. Without waiting a moment longer, Yang raced forward, hopping onto her bike and kicking on the ignition. Bumblebee roared to life, deafening in the otherwise quiet downtown street. Slipping her helmet on and securing Ember Celica into her motorcycle, Yang spun the bike around, ready to take off when a loud crash caught her attention. There, wedged into the doorway to the club was Star Cestus. With only his head and arm being able to make it through the smaller doors, Yang may have found it funny if time wasn't of the essence.

"Come on!" Yang shouted over to her Duel Monster, who just waived her off, insisting she don't lose their target. "Fine, you better catch up though" Yang shouted back as she tore down the streets after the black van. After a few minutes of weaving in and out of the minimal traffic, Yang finally began to gain ground on the van. A part of the cocksure duelist was unsure if Junior was even in the van to begin with but at this point she was committed and wasn't about to give up this chase.

Closing ever so steadily on her target, Yang's eyes lit up in shock when the back of the van flew open, revealing a trio of ugly green monsters, all armed with heavy cannons. "Goblins, are you friggin kidding me!?" Yang hissed as the ugly wart-encrusted warriors leveled their weapons on their pursuer and fired.

"Crap!" Yang yelled as three bursts of green energy raced towards the blonde brawler. Swerving to the side, Yang managed to just barely avoid the blasts only to look back in horror to see the blasts streaming towards a small four door car. However, before the blasts could impact the vehicle and the small family within it, a towering figure touched down at a full sprint in front of the vehicle, batting aside the blasts with a sweep of his armoured form.

"Bout time, what took you so long!?" Yang hollered to Number 105: Battlin' Boxer Star Cestus as he raced down the paved streets alongside his Duelist. Though on foot, Star Cestus' considerable size, muscled legs and long strides allowed him to keep pace with the two vehicles while taking care not to run other civilians off the road.

Swerving to avoid another blast from the Goblin Attack Force hanging out of the back of the van, Yang grit her teeth under her helmet. This was getting ridiculous, she just wanted a bit of information and these nut cases were shooting up the city trying to get away from her. When Star Cestus had to dive in front of another blast of green energy to protect an unsuspecting hatchback from a goblin themed demise, Yang came to the conclusion that this chase was finally over.

Following the van up an onramp, Yang found both herself and her sprinting boxer on the King's Highway 401, Vale's busiest freeway. Though it was past midnight at this point, the freeway was still packed with cars and Yang found her driving abilities pushed to the limit as she tried to gain ground on the speeding van. Luckily the Goblins seemed to have laid off on the covering fire in favour of gaining distance, dodging traffic was hard enough let alone incoming weapon's fire.

On her right Star Cestus kept at his furious pace taking care to avoid stepping on cars and keeping his piercing red eyes trained on the black van. After a close shave, where Yang nearly drove into the back of a semi, the blonde duelist hissed in annoyance upon catching sight of the van once more. It seemed the goblins had discarded their previous small arms and traded them in for a massive cannon, one that seemed far too big for the limited space in that van.

"Oh, you have got to be kidding me!" Yang shouted in disbelief, as the Buster Rancher unleashed a blinding beam of golden energy. Streaking towards both Duelist and monster, Yang hit the breaks, cutting off her momentum and allowing Star Cestus to leap over her head. With a teeth jarring explosion, Star Cestus intercepted the golden beam, using his last overlay unit in the process to trigger his Perfect Counter ability. Without missing a step Star Cestus raced through the cloud of smoke and debris at a full sprint, his fist now aglow with the combined power of his own ability and the tremendous energy of the Goblin's weapon.

Racing up alongside her prized Xyz Monster, Yang gave him a quick thumb's up of approval as he hopped over another car. "Let 'em have it!" Yang shouted to her duel monster and Star Cestus wasted little time in obeying. Leaping into the air to get a better view of his target, Star Cestus lined up the shot with the speeding fan perfectly. Taking a brief moment to appreciate the looks of horror and panic on the faces of the goblins hanging out the back, Star Cestus unleashed the stored energy in his fist with a single massive punch. The condensed energy raced forward in the blink of an eye slamming into the back of the van vapouring both the back half of the vehicle and the green skinned hooligans that had occupied that space just a moment before.

Swerving out of control, what was left of the van careened wildly into the hard-light safety barriers lining the freeway. Slamming into the semi-transparent surface with a resounding crash, the maddeningly allusive vehicle finally came to a halt just as Yang pulled up behind the wreck with Star Cestus in tow.

For a moment Yang thought they may have gone to far in trying to slow them down, however those worries were promptly swept aside as the driver's side door creaked open. Stumbling out of the wrecked vehicle with a pained groan and bloody brow, Junior fell to the hard pavement of the freeway holding his hand up to block the headlights from the blonde brawler's bike.

"You know, if you had just played along and told me what you knew then we wouldn't have had to go through all that" Yang sighed, sidling up to the burly bar owner. Pulling out her scroll once more and showing him the blurry picture on it, Yang stared down the injured man with the same piercing red eyes she had when defeating the Malachite twins.

"Last chance, tell me what you know" Yang growled, Star Cestus looming menacingly over her shoulder.

"I already told you..." Junior groaned at the dull ache he was feeling from the crash. His Aura had taken the brunt of the damage and was now doing its best to soothe the tremendous amount of pain his body was feeling. "... I've never seen her before, I meant it, whoa hey!" Junior exclaimed in shock as the angered blonde hoisted the towering club owner up with one hand.

"Quit lying to me, you have to know something, everyone says you know everything there is to know in Vale!" Yang shouted not noticing, her Xyz Monster turn away at some commotion behind her.

"Look, I'm being straight with you. I've never seen her before, maybe she's from Mistral, Atlas or Vacuo" Junior rasped, doing his best to keep a straight face so as not to betray the discomfort he was feeling.

Dragging the bearded man so close that their noses were practically touching Yang grit her teeth as she searched the man's eyes for any trace of deceit. "If you're so positive you don't know anything, why did you run?" Yang growled, this was it her last lead, her last hope and it looked like it was just as fruitless as every single one before it.

"Lady I just watched you demolish my entire club and you chase me down the god damn freeway, why do you think I ran?!" Junior questioned incredulously. True, the blonde-haired duelist couldn't see her own piercing red eyes that set the hairs on the back of Junior's neck to stand on end, but her actions more than made up for that.

Yang held Junior's stare for a solid minute before closing her eyes, letting them revert to their normal lavender state. Taking a few deep breaths Yang lowered the injured information broker down against what was left of his van with a tired sigh. "Sorry I smashed up your club" Yang muttered, all the fight seemingly leaving her tired body all at once.

Taken aback by this sullen demeanour, which seemed so out of place for the cocksure duelist, Junior brought a hand up to scratch the back of his head. "It's fine, I guess. My boys did come after you first" Junior relented, not wanting to bring up the fact that technically she hit him first.

"Still that was a lot of damage I did, plus your van, that won't be cheap" Yang countered looking over Star Cestus' handiwork. The entire back half of the van was a twisted melted wreck that closely resembled a statue she once saw when her dad dragged both herself and her sister to a modern art museum.

"Forget it, I just got a pretty decent pay day. Should cover this and then some" Junior waved off the blonde's concerns, as he began fishing around in his pocket for his own scroll.

"Alright, we cool?" Yang asked, holding out her fist for a friendly fist bump.

For a moment Junior said nothing, merely eyeing Yang's outstretched fist as if coming into contact with it would cause him to explode. After another minute of awkward silence, Junior finally relented returning her fist bump with a tired sigh of his own. "Yeah, we're cool, blondie."

"Sweet!" Yang exclaimed, all the bubbly cheer of her normal countenance returning to her. "Hey, could you do me one favour though?" Yang asked, her bright smile easing the trepidation Junior had been feeling earlier. "Could you give Melanie and Miltia that vacation time you promised them? I know they didn't beat me, but they tried really hard and came pretty close?" Yang asked, hoping to also smooth out her relationship with her new rivals.

"Yeah, I guess I better" Junior allotted, before punching in some numbers into his scroll. "I'm gonna get my boys to come pick me up, alright?" Junior asked, indicating that this part of their conversation was now over.

"You bet!" Yang grinned flashing her new 'friend' a playful thumb's up.

As Junior began bickering with one of his subordinates on the other end of his scroll, Yang turned around to head back to her bike when she was met by the most peculiar scene. Star Cestus, who had at one point been looming ominously over her shoulder was now crouched down beside Bumblebee with his back to her. Closing in on the Xyz Monster Yang quirked an eyebrow as she picked up on a hushed conversation coming from the stooped boxer.

"Uh, something going on here buddy?" Yang asked trying to look over the armoured boxer's significant form. Standing up to his full height upon his summoner's words, Star Cestus slowly turned around, his arms seemingly crossed over his chest. As Star Cestus finally finished turning to face his Duelist, Yang's lavender eyes widened in surprise at what was clutched within his muscled arms.

"Hey Yang!" Ruby greeted with a cheery smile as she hung from Star Cestus' arms. Her red cloak was being blown about all over the place by the wind kicked up from the cars as they passed them by.

"Rubes?! What are you doing here?" Yang questioned, glancing around at the busy freeway. They really needed to get a move on it was well past midnight at this point and their dad was probably going to be pretty peeved that they had been out so late.

"I was sharing some really awesome news with Star Cestus" Ruby grinned as the Xyz Monster hoisted her up onto his armoured shoulder. Yang was a little taken aback by the sheer giddiness of her beloved sister. She had only dropped her off at From Dust Till Dawn around two hours ago. What could have happened to the energetic Duelist to get her whipped up into such an excited mood.

"Really? What's up?" Yang questioned, trying to determine what had her sister practically bouncing on her Xyz Monster's shoulder.

"Nope, first you get to tell me what you've been up to" Ruby grinned, nodding towards the wrecked van and injured bar owner leant up against it. Her silver eyes had that devilish look about them that they usually had when she was trying to pry information from her sister.

"Oh, was just out having some fun. Oh, you'll never guess!" Yang grinned luring Ruby into her own verbal trap. Upon seeing Ruby's questioning stare, Yang's grin only grew wider. "I actually went a round with this pair of really hot twins!" Yang gave a lecherous wink and burst out laughing at the queasy look on Ruby's face.

"Eww, Yang that's gross. I don't want to hear about that!" Ruby whined, fake gagging at her sister's sense of humour. Ruby may have been smarter than most at her age but Yang had known the red hooded Duelist for her entire life. This meant that Yang knew the best ways to steer conversations away from topics she'd rather Ruby not know about.

"Hey it was fun times held by all, although I think they may have some trouble walking in the morning, kind of hard to watch my own strength in those situations" Yang explained while her sister scrunched her eyes together.

"Yang! I said stop being gross or I'll tell dad!" Ruby exclaimed waving her arms back and forth. She would have toppled right off of Star Cestus' shoulder if the Xyz Monster hadn't been prepared and gave her a helping prod to right her balance.

Laughing all the way to her bike, Yang slipped her helmet back on as she settled back onto the seat of her beloved bumblebee. "Fine, fine I won't regale you with my exploits tonight, maybe when you're older" Yang grinned upon seeing the aghast look on her sister's face. That pretty much ensured Ruby wouldn't be asking about tonight's events until... well there was a good chance she would never ask about them, which suited Yang just fine.

"So, what's this big news that's got you all excited?" Yang questioned.

"Well I kind of want to tell you and dad at the same time, if that's ok?" Ruby muttered sheepishly. She was now looking straight at the ground with a shy smile as she ran her finger along the edge of Crescent Rose.

Arching her own eyebrow at her sister's response, Yang relented with a nod of her head. "Sure thing, Rubes" Yang replied before glancing up at Star Cestus. "You going to carry her like that?" Yang questioned and received a determined thumb's up in response. "Are you sure?" Yang pressed leveling a piercing stare on her own Xyz Monster. Letting out an exacerbated sigh, Star Cestus held up a single finger in response which did little to sway Yang's questioning glare.

"Yeah, but after that one time we couldn't find her for nearly three hours" Yang countered causing Star Cestus to scratch the back of his head bashfully in response. "That's right and do you remember how pissed Dad was at us?" Yang pressed, ensuring her monster understood where she was coming from. Their overprotective father was usually a pretty laid-back guy, but when it came to the safety of his daughters he had a tendency to become a little assertive.

"Lay off of him, Yang, I can just hold on it'll be fine" Ruby said from her position on Star Cestus' armoured shoulder.

After a brief moment of thinking, Yang finally caved with a sigh. "Fine you can carry her, but drop her and we're both in for it" Yang commented before kicking on Bumblebee's ignition causing the bike to roar to life once more. "Come on let's get going it's late enough as it is" Yang shouted over the sound of her own bike. Without waiting for a response, Yang quickly merged into the sparse traffic that was on the freeway this late at night with Star Cestus right behind her.

Looking into one of her mirrors, Yang couldn't hide her grin at seeing Ruby cheering at the top of her lungs, using Star Cestus as her trusty steed. Whatever this news was it sure as hell must have been something significant to get her sister so excited. It almost made up for the complete disaster that tonight turned out to be, but not quite.

As the pair sped away, they failed to notice a petit figure standing on the other side of the road. Garbed in a white overcoat and carrying a peculiar parasol. the girl's multi-coloured hair was blown about by the traffic as it passed but her heterochromatic gaze never left the sisters even as they faded out of sight.

She had originally been there to deal with the girl who had given Roman so many issues but upon seeing her blonde-haired sister, the strange girl's objectives changed. There was something about that girl that intrigued her, something she could only discover by getting closer to her. With a small shrug and a mischievous grin, the girl blinked out of existence leaving no trace that she was ever there to begin with.

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** **Hey everyone, I know it's been a while since I've uploaded a proper chapter but I finally found the time to wrap up the trailer chapters for Duel Monsters. Moving forward we'll be heading into the show proper where we'll be expanding more on the story and do a little more world building.**

 **This chapter was surprisingly straightforward and yet I've been having to go back and make changes to the overall story structure and duels I've already written as RWBY actually progresses. But focusing on this chapter obviously we introduce Yang and the Malachite Twins, who I actually want to make better use of in the future, I actually really like them not gonna lie. Fun little fact Yang's deck was the first one I ever built when making thinking up this series. The Battlin' Boxers were literally the perfect archetype for Yang to use and their overall playstyle matches Yang's characterization quite well.**

 **For the duel itself this one came to 11 turns in total and that's generally around how long the duel's I've written so far last any longer and I'd have to split it up into a multi chapter piece. Also, for those wondering yes in the future I will be channelling my Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's and have some instances of Card Games on Motorcycles! with Yang.**

 **For the most part this was a lot of fun to write and I especially enjoyed having a few moments of setup for future chapters that I hope you can catch on to. I'm hoping next chapter won't take me as long to write, there won't be any duels in it mainly because it'll be the introduction to Beacon. In the mean time hope you all have a wonderful day and if you have any questions feel free to hit me up.**

 **Until next time everyone!**


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